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Welcome to Miss Sophie’s storytime. Today we’re going to read Fussy Freya by Katharine Quarmby and illustrated by Piet Grobler.
Freya had an appetite as fine as fine could be. She’d munch up all her greens for lunch and gobble fish for tea. “What a brilliant eater!” her mum and dad would say. Everything was marvellous until one dreadful day.
Freya likes to eat cucumbers, french style green beans, broccoli and spinach. Those are a lot of good vegetables. And both her and the cat like to eat tuna.
Freya’s mum had cooked a dish of dhal and jasmine rice. Baby Ravi ate two bowls, he liked a bit of spice.
Baby Ravi even licked the bowl clean.
Ravi banged the table-top, but Freya sulked and glared- “Your dhal and rice are just not nice,” she suddenly declared. Her mum first sighed a little and then she sighed a lot. Did Freya mind a little? Not a little, not a jot.
Freya normally eats all her food, but this dish she didn’t like. But baby Ravi and the cat seemed to like it very much. It’s so spicy they’re breathing fire.
On Tuesday, Freya spurned a plate of bacon with baked beans, and sausages and gravy and stir-fried winter greens. Mummy scowled a little and then she scowled a lot. Did Freya mind a little? Not a little, not a jot.
I can understand why Freya’s mom is upset with her. It’s not good to waste food and these are foods that Freya liked before. I wonder why she doesn’t like them anymore.
The next day, fussy Freya let out a frightful roar- “I can’t abide your fish!” she cried and threw it on the floor. Mummy shrieked a little, Daddy shrieked a lot. Did Freya mind a little? Not a little, not a jot.
Well at least the cat will eat the tuna, but what about the tasty asparagus and parsley.
By Thursday, fussy Freya was tucked up in her bed. Her mummy moaned, her daddy groaned. “This can’t go on,” Mum said. “She’s turned down all her favourite food. She’s getting very thin. I’m worried that she’ll soon be nothing more than bones and skin.
Freya won’t eat anything. She wouldn’t eat the vanilla parfait, the turkey drumstick, a pear or a toffee apple. She also wouldn’t even drink her orange juice.
Mum, in despair, phoned Grandma Clare. “You were the same at three,” said Grandma Clare to Freya’s mum. “Send Freya here to me.”
Of course, Freya’s mum is asking for help. She cares about Freya and eating is very important to stay healthy and strong. Baby Ravi has a good appetite, he’s looking for more fish, kind of like the cat.
So Freya packed her weekend bag to stay with Grandma Clare, with pink pyjamas, Monkey Monks and Kanga and Brown Bear.
With her bag all packed, including her toothbrush, Freya is off to see her grandma.
“What will you eat for tea, my sweet?” asked Freya’s Grandma Clare. “I’d like giraffe and warthog and monkey and brown bear.”
Giraffe? Warthog? Monkey and brown bear? Now those are some unusual things to eat. Have you ever tried them? Let’s find out if Freya likes that better than her mum’s food.
“You run away and play, my dear. We’ll whip you up a feast.” “We’ll sort her,” whispered Grandma Clare, “the fussy little beast.” Freya played with Grandpa’s trains and grinned a wicked grin. “Perhaps they’ll give me lollipops and sweeties in a tin.”
Look at Freya’s feet. She tied Grandpa’s expensive trains on her feet and is running around with them. That’s not how you play with trains. But it doesn’t bother Freya, she’s thinking about all the sweets her grandparents are going to give her.
Grandpa came dressed as a chef, a grin upon his face. “Please come this way, Princess,” he said and led her to her place.
Look Freya is walking like a princess, and at the top of the page you can see how she imagines herself as a princess too.
Upon the table stood a feast, a fine and splendid spread of silver salvers, purple plates- “Ooh, that looks good!” she said.
Grandma and Grandpa are sure giving her the royal treatment. They’ve dressed up to serve her and decorated the place: with an alligator, a zebra hide on the floor and a fake snake around the candles. They’re even using a snake decorated tablecloth and silver plate covers for the food. It seems like Freya is in for a great feast, don’t you think?