Sadie Sloth and Her Spaghetti

by Lauren Walczak, Daniel Wlodarski (Illustrator)

This beautifully illustrated children's book shows the importance of introducing new foods in a very gentle way. As the author and a mother to a little girl on the Autism Spectrum, Lauren Walczak wanted to provide parents, BCBAs, Speech & Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, RBTs, classroom teachers, and others with a visual to use on this topic.

Feeding our little ones with ASD and other sensory processing disorders can feel like an impossible undertaking. This book is not meant to miraculously get your child to eat something new, but to allow you to reference a friendly face, Sadie Sloth, when you are tackling the hard task of introducing new foods or textures. The simple storytelling and lovely illustrations will allow readers to learn that patience, understanding, and encouragement can go a long way towards opening others’ minds – and mouths! – to new things.

Genres: Childrens

27 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2023

About the author

Hi, I’m Lauren Walczak, an author and mother of two daughters, one who has Autism Spectrum Disorder. Familiar with the challenges that parents face in the kitchen, I’ve spent years engaging in different therapies and interventions and my girls will now eat a wide variety of food – I hope to encourage others to not give up. Thankfully, my two dogs Teddy and Louie are sure to eat anything the girls don’t want! When I’m not busy writing or working in the kitchen, I enjoy all things coffee and am a fairly decent tap dancer. I have a degree in Supply Chain Management and love the color green!

Reviews

[S.A. Krishnan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet ‘delicious’ story
Through Sadie the Sloth and her friend, Ellie Elephant, the author had brought out a beautiful story with lovely illustrations to be brave and try different foods and relish it. Lovely read for children.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as a Goodreads Kindle win. I let my niece read this. She said that after reading this , she now feels like she can try new foods. Also, that it's a really good book! The illustrations are gorgeous!

[Billie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sadie the Sloth is an adorable character. This book has beautiful, colorful illustrations. Sadie has a big problem and only likes one thing to eat, string cheese. Her mother tells her that this is not healthy and finds a solution to this problem. A great book for any child and especially for a picky eater. I received a Kindle edition free from Goodreads giveaways for a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Linsey Toney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book Sadie Sloth and Her Spaghetti!

This book is about a sloth that only liked to eat string cheese, and nothing else.
This book made me tear up because it's so relatable as a mom with a child with ASD, and lots of mom's and dad's with neurodivergent children. The pictures are also very cute!

Thanks to the author for making a relatable book, and Goodreads for hosting the giveaway where I won this awesome book!

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great timing as my once adventuresome eater has turned into a 3 items diet. Everything is now disgusting and icky.

[Nathan Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. This is a great book for your young, picky eater who is struggling to expand to simple foods. In this book, the main character, Sadie, graduates from string cheese to spaghetti which might be similar to the major win you need! Not sure I would recommend this if your current struggle is to encourage adventuring into the notoriously difficult healthy foods.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a nice little book with cute illustrations that deal with the introduction of new foods to the young child. It's a challenge many of us face and this book might help with some answers.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.