Book Review

The Secret Life of Mitch Spinach

by Hillary Feerick and Jeff Hillenbrand

Review by Cathe Olson

Mitch Spinach is no ordinary kid. Not only is he the smartest, strongest, and nicest kid at Sunchoke Elementary School, he has the most unusual lunches. He pulls fruit and vegetables out of his temperature-controlled Nutripak and mixes them into smoothies with his handy battery-powdered blender. All this healthy food seems to give him special powers and Principal Lycopene relies on Mitch to solve the mysteries that crop up at school.

This picture book, geared to kids three to ten years old, endeavors to show kids that eating healthy is cool. While I applaud this much-needed message, the mystery is rather unexciting and much too simple. It's obvious that the principal or custodian could have easily figured it out. In addition, the characters are pretty fake and the kids much too excited about Mitch and his smoothies. There'd have to be at least one skeptic in the crowd. I love the idea of this book but it seems like the authors were trying just a little two hard to push the message. With the right reader, kids may enjoy the story and it would be a good opening for discussion on healthful eating.

The book includes a section for parents and teachers with nutritional information about the foods mentioned in the book, as well as a recipe for The Mitch Spinach Super Smoothie.

Get your copy of The Secret Life of Mitch Spinach today!

Cathe Olson is the author of the new nondairy ice cream cookbook: Lick It! Cream Dreamy Vegan Ice Cream Your Mouth Will Love, as well as Simply Natural Baby Food and The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook. Visit Cathe's website at www.simplynaturalbooks.com and her blog at http://catheolson.blogspot.com.

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