Food Fight! How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

How does a dinosaur
eat his food?
Does he spit out his broccoli
partially chewed?

Does he pick at his cereal,
Throw down his cup,
hoping to make someone else pick it up?

With the possible exception of bedtime bedlam, nothing gets to parents more than the daily food fight with small children. Even if (and this is a big IF--viz my recent post on sneaking nutrients into chicken nuggets, et al, in Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food),)--your child is an omnivorous and enthusiastic eater, there are still plenty of dinner table behaviors that need to be, um, reshaped in early childhood. Luckily, the team of Yolen and Teague have turned their considerable talents to this particular problem, harnessing the dynamics of deviate dinosaurs to lead kids in the way they should go.

In How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? Mark Teague's illustrations of rarely seen dinosaurs such as the quetzalcoatlus, spinosaurus, and gorgosaurus show dinosaurs engaging in all those unwanted behaviors:

Does he fuss,
does he fidget?
Does he squirm in his chair?

Does he flip his spaghetti,
high in the air?

Well, of course not. After we've had our fun watching appalled waitresses and abashed dogs and cats reacting to such abominations, Teague's dinosaurs model the best of behavior.

No.... He says, "Please"
and "Thank you.
He sits very still.

He eats all before him
with smiles
and good will.

If only! Still, Yolen's arresting rhymes and Teague's colorful, overacting dinos get kids' attention while they slip in some suggestions on how to be delightful dinosaurs at the family table. Most of the dinosaurs are identified by lettering to be searched out in each illustration, and all are shown and identified in the clever endpapers of this title in this popular series of wise and witty ways to encourage good behavior.