Please Feed the Monkeys

Hungry Monkey: A Food-Loving Father's Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater

by Matthew Amster-Burton

I’m going to break the rules here to tell you about a book that isn’t for kids but is about them. More specifically, it’s about feeding them, and doing so without stocking your pantry with jarred baby foods or other scary processed items.

This is a nonfiction, memoir-ish book ... I think this is a first for Up Past Bedtime!

Summary

In the opening pages of Hungry Monkey, Seattle-based food writer Matthew Amster-Burton openly admits that one of his first thoughts when he learned of his wife’s pregnancy was concern about future years of bland/boring/repetitive foods that would invade his kitchen. But one day, after his daughter had been in the world for a few months, Amster-Burton was leaving a donut shop and a bit of his chocolate donut fell right onto baby Iris’ head - only to be quickly snatched into her open mouth. Nothing bad happened. In fact, she seemed to enjoy it. While he doesn’t begin feeding her everything he enjoys right at that moment, Amster-Burton began to wonder if maybe his fears were misplaced and that the many warnings about feeding solid foods to youngsters were a little over-the-top.

After this amusing introduction, Hungry Monkey dives into the first few years of baby Iris’ foray into food, beginning with milk and quickly expanding to things like Veggie Booty, sushi, and duck. Amster-Burton is eager and inventive in his quest to introduce his daughter to the foods he loves, and he finds great joy in sharing her first tastes with her.

While she is an adventurous eater, Iris also displays the typical qualities of a developing palate. She starts out trying everything and anything that hits her plate, but around age 2 she begins to reject foods she once loved, opting instead for an endless repetition of typical kid-friendly foods such as hot dogs, pizza, or rice. All the while, Amster-Burton gives her opportunities to try new things, and brings her into the kitchen to cook with him. He includes recipes that Iris herself ate and enjoyed, and even gives tips on what steps can be completed by “little fingers.”

Worth staying up past bedtime?

Whether you have a hungry monkey of your own or not, this book is definitely worth your time. Amster-Burton is hilarious, and his ideas and methods for introducing Iris to different foods are great. Where many books about how to feed young or picky eaters rely on sneaking healthy ingredients into loved dishes (beets in chocolate cake, anyone?), Amster-Burton recognizes the intelligence of discerning young palates and instead relies on patience, variety, participation and gentle encouragement.

Recommended for anyone with their own hungry monkey, or those with an interest in food and the feeding of kiddos.