The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster: A Tale of Picky Eating

by Alice W. Flaherty, Scott Magoon (Illustrator)

Once upon a time, on a long, slow trip to Scotland, a little girl named Katerina-Elizabeth tossed her oatmeal overboard—again, and again, and again. She was a picky eater, and oatmeal was her least favorite food.

And once upon a time, a small worm, no bigger than a piece of thread, swam alongside an ocean liner bound for Scotland and ate bowl after bowl of tossed oatmeal. He had never tasted anything as wonderful as oatmeal in his whole life. A. W. Flaherty and Scott Magoon unravel the Loch Ness legend in this whimsical picture book for the picky (and not-so-picky) eater in all of us.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Monsters, Food, Humor, Scotland, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 2007

About the author

Alice Weaver Flaherty is an American neurologist. She is a researcher, physician, educator and author of the 2004 book The Midnight Disease, about the neural basis of creativity. She writes in various genres, including “scientific papers, humorous essays, and picture books”. Her book, The Massachusetts General Hospital Handbook of Neurology is the most "widely used neurology text in its class".[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_W...]

Reviews

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the artwork and the creativity as to the beginnings of the Loch Ness creature. It all began when a tiny sea worm on the bottom of the ocean floor encountered a lovely bowl of oatmeal. He followed the ship across the ocean to Scotland where a young girl, who hated oatmeal, kept hurling her breakfast out of the porthole. However, the story line did not enthrall me and fell flat. The author wrote that her father told a version of this to make her eat her oatmeal.

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I certainly have very much textually enjoyed The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster: A Tale of Picky Eating, Alice W. Flaherty’s imaginative take on the origin of the famous Loch Ness Monster and how in her story, it all seems to have begun with a little American girl travelling alone by ship to Scotland and repeatedly tossing her despised oatmeal into the ocean, thereby feeding a diminutive sea worm who not only enjoys eating said oatmeal but then follows Katerina-Elizabeth and her hated breakfast fare all the way to Loch Ness, growing larger and larger until it reaches truly epic and monstrous proportions (and I certainly did smile at the monster finally advertising for more and more oatmeal by letting itself be repeatedly seen and photographed and tourists to Scotland eager to catch a glimpse then once again and just like little Katerina-Elizabeth tossing their oatmeal into Loch Ness for Nessie to consume).

However, I actually am someone who does in fact much enjoy eating ALL of the foods which the author seems to consider as unpalatable and monster food (oatmeal, haggis, suet cake) and also do have to wonder why at least one of the despised foods of The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster: A Tale of Picky Eating could not have been a vegetable like Brussels sprouts or broccoli. But of course, The Luck of the Loch Ness: A Tale of Picky Eating is Alice W. Flaherty’s story, and she can therefore describe any foods she so desires as being horrible and to be tossed aside and into the water (but I do question why all of the undesirable food items have to be Scottish, as this does seem a bit as though Flaherty has a hatred on for Scottish cuisine, something that in my opinion is at best a bit nasty and arrogant and could easily have been avoided if not every unliked food in this picture book hailed from Scotland).

Still The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster: A Tale of Picky Eating is a fun and original pourquoi type of fantasy (and one that should definitely appeal to fans of Nessie and her many legends, as well as I suppose to children who are picky eaters, not to mention to oatmeal haters). And my only reason for a three and not a four star ranking for The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster: A Tale of Picky Eating is that on a personal and aesthetic level, I have found Scott Magoon’s accompanying artwork too dark and somber colour-wise for me and many of the human figures depicted as much too frowning and miserable with regard to their facial expressions (although indeed, the little sea worm that later morphs into the Loch Ness Monster is really quite sweetly and delightfully depicted, as gigantic at the end, of course, but usually smiling and with a happy disposition).

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sent across the Atlantic on an ocean liner in order to visit her grandmother in Scotland, young Katerina-Elizabeth continually chucks her oatmeal - a food she simply cannot stand! - out the porthole. It is eaten by a little ocean worm, who begins to grow exponentially, as he follows the ship across the sea. Eventually ship, girl and worm reach Loch Ness, where the now gigantic creature becomes the fabled Nessie, AKA the Loch Ness Monster...

An immensely entertaining original pourquoi story, The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster: A Tale of Picky Eating pairs an amusing tale from author A.W. Flaherty with expressive artwork from illustrator Scott Magoon. Any child who has had a food they just didn't like - for me, it was spinach! - will identify with Katerina-Elizabeth, and will appreciate this creative explanation for how the Loch Ness Monster came to be. There's even an author's afterword discussing being a picky eater, and the science behind it. Recommended to all young picky eaters, and to Loch Ness Monster fans.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful, funny and original story of the Loch Ness Monster and his surprising passion for oatmeal!

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun pourquoi tale! I was fascinated by "Nessie" as a little girl and always had a bit of a fondness for the"monster." Also, my great-grandmother was Scottish, and I've visited Scotland, so I enjoyed those aspects. My quibble is that is just seemed so unrealistic that all those children would throw away perfectly good (even if not "tasty") food... I mean, that is so wasteful even today, but back when this story was set I can't imagine it happening. Might be one thing for a wealthy girl on an ocean liner who could go grab a cinnamon roll instead of oatmeal, but I don't think all those farmer's children would be so wasteful. That aside, it was an entertaining tale. As a mother of a "picky eater," I was also greatly interested in the author's note at the back where she goes into the science of picky eating. Wish she'd had some sources for support, though she is a neurologist who teaches at Harvard Medical School so her credentials are sound.
PS We all love oatmeal here, though! I've even had Scottish style oatmeal on many occasions :-)

[Lobstergirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story about a girl whose hatred for oatmeal creates the Loch Ness Monster. The illustrations are excellent. The author is a neurologist at Mass General Hospital and Harvard and the book ends with a postscript for adults about how picky eaters have a picky eating gene so we should excuse children who refuse to eat broccoli.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful tale of fantasy and adventure. I was a bit worried that our girls would reject healthy oatmeal after reading this book, but quite the opposite, they requested it specifically for the last few days. The illustrations are humorous, with sepia tones that lend an air of an older age. It's a fun book to read aloud.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, and funny, treat for both Cryptozoology fans, AND oatmeal-haters.

Burp!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable and humorous picture book that officially explains how the Loch Ness Monster really came to be (he ate the discarded oatmeal thrown overboard by little Katerina-Elizabeth, who HATES oatmeal!) Did you know that he started out as a small, small worm off the coast of America, and followed the oatmeal trail all the way to Scotland?

If you pick this one up, take the time to delight in all the details of the artwork, and check out "The Science of it All" on the last page, which briefly explains the biology of picky eating. After all, the author is also a neurologist and a teacher at Harvard Medical School, so she knows what she's talking about!

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great, funny little story that's about two things: the loch ness monster and picky eating. A little girl is on an ocean voyage to meet her grandmother in Scotland, and is under orders to eat her oatmeal every morning. She hates the gooey stuff, and so throws it out the porthole of the boat, where a little worm sees it and eats it, growing larger from the strength of it, and following along with the ship. The little worm follows all the way to Scotland, and well...you can probably guess the rest. But what's great about this book is the sepia toned illustrations -- it gives this weird cast to it all. Weird and cool!

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous story about a little girl who hates her oatmeal and the small sea worm who gladly takes it from her. The descriptions of how the worm grows into the Loch Ness Monster are clever and grounded (from as big as your thumbnail to as long as an elementary school hallway).

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just read this book to my kids. Super cute story about a little worm that turned into The Loch Ness Monster

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did you know that some people are "Supertasters?" Kids in this category have twice as many taste buds as kids who are "Nontasters." The Supertaster label can help explain finicky eaters. This imaginative story is about a girl named Katerina-Elizabeth who throws her oatmeal overboard on a voyage to Scotland. A sea worm begins eating the oatmeal and grows and grows and grows. . . He follows Katerina-Elizabeth to her destination on the shores of Loch Ness. With all the good stuff that kids are dumping in to the loch, "Nessie" keeps growing and figures out how to become a worldwide sensation with good old American know how. And it all started with Katerina-Elizabeth. A fun take on the Loch Ness Monster.

[Melissa Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

June 2013 Texas Summer Reading Theme: Dig into Reading. This book clicked perfectly with Cronin's "Diary of a Worm". We created a Worm Farm from the CSLP Summer Reading Club suggested curriculum. The instructions included feeding the earthworms oatmeal. The look on the kids faces after reading the story and then showing them the oatmeal carton was precious. Open mouths and Great Big Eyes.....

[Audrey Sauble · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really fun, quirky story!

My kids and I really enjoyed this "origin story" for the Loch Ness monster. It's got a lot of bonus details that make it fun to reread a few times, but mostly, it's just a really adorable story.

[Sarah Priest · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I was drawn to the cover and wasn't really sure what it was even about, but this was so cute and different!

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

adorable. Will give small children ideas. Small children SHOULD have ideas.

[Iris Cardozo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a Scottish little girl named Katerina-Elizabeth, her parents send her off to her grandparents. Her parents arranged all her meals throughout the days she is going to be on board. while everyone eats delicious food she gets oatmeal. Katerina hates oatmeal so she throws her oatmeal out the ship every time. At the bottom of the sea there is a sea worm who discovers this oatmeal and starts eating it every day. The sea worm keeps eating the oatmeal, the result of eating it the sea worm grows bigger and bigger. When the ship reaches Katerina destination the worm follows her into town and he stays in a lake near by. At the end of the story the little girl becomes friends with this worm.

[Emily Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katerina-Elizabeth sets across the sea to visit her grandmother in Scotland. She's a picky eater and, unfortunately, her parents have determined she's to eat yucky oatmeal the entire voyage. So what does she do? Throws every bowl of oatmeal out the port window, of course! The oatmeal is then gobbled up by a sea worm who grows and grows and follows Katerina-Elizabeth to Scotland in hopes of more overboard oatmeal.

I enjoy tales of the Loch Ness Monster and this was a fun variation. I do with the "monster" here looked a bit more like the traditional Loch Ness Monster, but a new image is fine. I don't really want to encourage children to toss out their food, but I do think this would be fun for a monster themed storytime.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute story about how the Loch Ness monster grew from a tiny sea worm into the Nessie that we all know and love! Hint: it was oatmeal tossed out by picky children!

I loved the author's note at the end in which she talked about her own pickiness as a child and the science behind it and even has a fun easy experiment for kids to see how many taste buds they have. Turns out she's a neurologist and teaches at Harvard Medical!

[emyrose8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this origin story for the Loc Ness monster! Picky eaters definitely play a role, along with oatmeal. Clever writing I completely enjoyed reading. I particularly liked the dedication and the author’s note in the back. It gives instructions on how to tell if you are a supertaster, nontaster, or average taster.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny Funny Funny. And ultimately instructive. A story about oatmeal, a worm, and a description of the science behind picky eating.

I am on record as being a fan of oatmeal!!

[Kristin Fletcher-spear]

Frac

[C.D. Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story more than my 2 year old. Perhaps a little too old of a story for 2. But an enjoyable tale nonetheless

[Freddie D · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun take on picky-eaters, featuring the legendary 'Nessie'. It's entertaining and well told, but despite the cool illustrations I was slightly bored by the bland colour palette.

[Brenda Doler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it. Funny story about a sea worm and a girl who doesn’t like oatmeal.

[Amy M · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25/5

[Sawyer Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

BEST KIDS BOOK

[Katie Hanrahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Discover how the tale of the Loch Ness Monster came to be in The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster: A Tale of Picky Eating by Alice Weaver Flaherty. A young girl named Katerina-Elizabeth was going on an ocean liner from the United States to Scotland when she befriended the young Loch Ness Monster. She would feed him her unwanted daily oatmeal through the porthole of the ship until she reached her destination. Once she got there, and Nessie was growing too big to leave Loch Ness, Scottish children fed him their oatmeal and other food, too. He grew and grew and loved the attention. But what would happen if he ran out of food?

The illustrations in this book are not extremely realistic, but enough so to be believable. This helps develop the story as science fiction. The Loch Ness Monster is not entirely proven to exist, but it has not been completely discredited either. The illustrations help readers unfamiliar with Nessie understand what the "monster" truly is. He just started out as a little worm who wanted food and to be loved. The images have a lot of grey and dark colors in them to help create a mood of eeriness and mystery.

This story uses enhancing interaction between words and pictures. Without the illustration's portrayals, readers would not be able to truly envision Nessie because most of them have never seen him. There is also parallel plot in this story. Readers not only follow Nessie's story, but Katerina-Elizabeth's as well. Readers will feel as if they are growing up right along side Nessie and Katerina-Elizabeth.

[Emmaline MacBeath · Rating 4 out of 5]

SUMMARY: Katerina-Elizabeth takes a voyage to Scotland. Her parents expect her to eat oatmeal every single morning. She hates oatmeal. So she throws it through a porthole. A sea worm takes notice and eats the treat. He grows bigger. The worm follows the ship and eats every morsel of the oatmeal and keeps growing larger on the way to Scotland. Katerina plays with the worm until she reaches her grandmother's. The large worm must now find new ways of being fed and is discovered.

ILLUSTRATIONS: The illustrations were created digitally. Although they are absolutely gorgeous and deliciously detailed, they are a bit too dark in some places making it difficult to see all of the details--such as a dark worm up against a dark ship.

THE GOOD: This is a unique story about how the Loch Ness "monster" came to be. How else could he grow so large except by being fed Scottish national foods such as oatmeal, haggis, and suet pudding! Even the tourists brought oatmeal in homage to the great creature. I absolutely love oatmeal (being Scottish) and did hate to see it maligned though.
THE NOT AS GOOD: The size of the text is super small, especially against the darkness of some of the illustrations. I struggled to read each page. There was plenty of room to make it bigger. The over darkness of the illustrations also caused me trouble on some pages. These could have been lightened a bit for better viewing.

AGE RECOMMENDATION: Grades 2-5