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Minnesota author John Donkers is a quality and compliance manager in manufacturing and now steps onto the children's book stage with a very successful initial offering in FISH POTATOES? The illustrations are by Oneheer. The message-filled story introduces Lilly whose family loves fish – from catching to buying and preparing fish for the dinner table, a labor that requires cooking etiquette and honors memories of great-grandmothers. Problem? Lilly doesn't like fish! Her refusal to eat fish causes parental involvement – "bribes" and "go to your room" decisions. Lilly pleads, offering all the alternate food ideas she loves, but to no avail… until Aunt Karie comes to dinner – again a fish dinner with fish, mashed potatoes, and beans. Lilly excuses herself, and when she returns Aunt Karie offers her some mashed potatoes – that taste "different" because Aunt Karie, in Lilly's absence, mixed fish with Lilly's mashed potatoes – and she loves the flavor, and becomes a fish lover! The morale – "Are there foods you dislike? I have learned that it is better to at least give it a try. You may end up actually liking it!" This is a fun little story that very subtly introduces behavior and attitude changes that to children seem fun to incorporate. Entertaining, very well written, and valuable for parents to encourage children's responses, this is an impressive debut publication. Recommended.
In Fish Potatoes a little girl named Lilly mentions her family adores eating fish. Sometimes Lilly would even help her mom make the tartar sauce for the fish. Lilly's family enjoyed catching fish and shopping for it in the supermarket. Lilly's problem was she absolutely hated fish, even though she never tasted it. Her expression in the book is priceless when she comments she did not like fish. At first, Lilly's parents tried to trick her into tasting their favorite food. For example, they tried telling her it was chicken, but she wasn’t fooled. Even when they promised her a delectable dessert, she wouldn’t taste a bite of fish. As a last resort, Lilly was sent to her room as a consequence of not eating her fish. Although she thought the punishment was horrid, it surely wouldn’t be as dreadful as munching on a piece of fish. Would anything change Lilly's mind? One day Lilly's beloved Aunt Karie came to visit and stayed for dinner. After Lilly left the table, her mom said she would not need to eat fish tonight but she should eat the beans and mashed potatoes on her plate. Right away, Lilly noticed there was something different about these potatoes. What was it? When Lilly asked for a second helping, Aunt Karie explained she mixed some fish into the mashed potatoes! It was a creative way to introduce Lilly to her family’s favorite dish. If you have a child who is a discriminating eater, this book is a great way to present a different perspective, while entertaining young readers. How many of us have preconceived notions we don’t like peas because they’re green, or we don’t like broccoli because it looks like a tree? The story is enchanting and the illustrations are so endearing. I highly recommend Fish Potatoes. Kudos to author John Donkers for a job well done.
I read this book to my 2 and a half year old son, and he absolutely loves it. He has asked me to read it to him every day since, and is now regularly asking to eat "fish potatoes".
The story is endearing and the main character Lilly is very relatable to children. I believe the message of trying new foods is very important, and is communicated in a wholesome and fun way in Fish Potatoes.
The illustrations are great and hold my son's attention, which is no easy feat.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone with children, especially anyone with a child that might be a bit of a picky eater.