Bea Reviews The Fussy Flamingo by Shelly Vaughan James and Illustrated by Matthew Rivera

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: July 1st, 2020 according to GoodReads & NetGalley; August 7th according to Amazon. The title isn't listed on the publisher's site.
Buying Links: Amazon*  | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books |
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Blurb from goodreads:

Lola, a young flamingo, knows that eating shrimp will make her feathers pink, but when her parents look away she tries different foods and turns a series of wild colors.

My Thoughts:

Bright colors, cheerful artwork, repetitive text, and humor infuse this story with delight and cheer. Lola is a young, gray flamingo who refuses to eat shrimp. This worries her mami and papi, who want her to eat shrimp so her feathers will turn pink. But Lola is fussy, and stubborn, and keeps running off into the jungle to eat a wide assortment of foods which turn her feathers all sorts of interesting colors and patterns. A side note here - Lola's parents do an AWFUL job of watching her and keeping her safe. If they were humans, I'd be reporting them for child neglect. Lola wanders off ALL the time.

The story is a little too long, the list of foods that Lola tries, while an excellent introduction to foods that may be unfamiliar to some readers, could have been cut shorter. Even I as an adult found it too lengthy and repetitive. Children may possibly feel different.

Children will definitely identify with Lola's particular eating habits and her adamant refusal to try the food her parents choose for her. Lola wants what Lola wants. Eventually, though, she concedes to try the shrimp. I personally LOVE shrimp. I could eat it seven days a week. Lola? Well, Lola has her own thoughts on the subject.

The story is charming, amusing, delightful, a little too long, but very relatable for children who are finicky eaters. Lola tries other foods while avoiding the one her parents want her to eat and children will like that she has that agency, that choice, even though her parents aren't happy about it. Parents will appreciate the variety of foods she eats and that she eventually tries shrimp. At the end of the book are some photos and facts about flamingos and resources for more information. I recommend this book for children two and a half years old and older.