French Kids Eat Everything

How Our Family Moved to France, Cured Picky Eating, Banned Snacking, and Discovered 10 Simple Rules

By: Karen Le Billon

Narrated by: Cris Dukehart

When she moved her young family to her husband's hometown in northern France, Karen Le Billon expected some cultural adjustment. But she didn't expect to be lectured for slipping her fussing toddler a snack, or to be forbidden from packing her older daughter a school lunch. Karen is intrigued by the fact that French children happily eat everything - from beets to broccoli, from salad to spinach - while French obesity rates are a fraction of what they are in North America. Karen soon begins to see the wisdom in the "food rules" that the French use to foster healthy eating habits and good manners in babies and children. Some of the rules call into question both our eating habits and our parenting styles. Other rules evoke commonsense habits that we used to share but have somehow forgotten.

Combining personal anecdotes with practical tips and appetizing recipes, French Kids Eat Everything is a humorous, provocative look at families, food, and children that is filled with inspiration and advice that every parent can use.

©2012 Karen Bakker Le Billon (P)2014 Tantor

Great book, Want More

This is a great book, but it left me with questions. I understand the food rules according to the French and if you don’t force vegetables for example, and dessert isn’t a reward, how do you handle dessert when kids don’t eat their veggies. Overall good content, and applicable rules.

LOVE!!

This is hands down the only audiobook I listen to over and over again! Each time I catch new nuggets of advice. Though our lives don’t parallel in the slightest outside of being an American myself, this book is relatable, humbling, funny, and empathic. My kiddo follows this (for the most part) and all I hear is how surprised they are with how well they eat in comparison to their peers... now if we could work on the state school systems to model the French way of eating ....

Slow to start, but sick with it

Starts off a bit slow, but picks up midway through. Author provides good tangible ideas to implement with your family. Worth the listen.

Very good ideas, a little overall worship of the French culture

This was a very enjoyable book and I have no doubt that it proposes a much better way of eating, even a better way of living, than the mainstream North American culture and eating methods. It borders a bit on the French worship side but I don't blame her. I wish the narrator's French accent was better (I found it to be a bit trite instead of entertaining or endearing).

I wonder if, really, this method of training a child to eat and leading a family in a more holistically healthy lifestyle is possible in North America. I see the merits, but it seems so difficult unless there was a mainstream change, which seems unlikely since the fast (or fake) food culture is so deeply entrenched into our society.

Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable story with some great ideas.

Entertaining and educational

Fun book, well written, and an easy read, but also educational and insightful about the differences between French and American eating.

My only complaint is that the narrator's pronunciation of certain words is really annoying... She pronounces "our" as "arrr" like a pirate, and adds an extra T in "anecdote" to make "antecdote" bizarrely. Also her French pronunciation isn't great at times (she pronounces tante as "tan-tay")... But that is a minor critique of the audible narrator. The book itself is great.

Worth hearing

Good book and easily laid out plan to adjust eating habits for your kids and yourself. Narrator was good and has a nice voice. French accents are bad but you can get over it.

A must read for those who care about food

If you could sum up French Kids Eat Everything in three words, what would they be?

This book was a great read, even if you do not have children. I learned much and was engaged from the first page. This is a well written and insightful book about not only food, but manners and cultural differences

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed how the author coped, wrote about, and expanded her experience of living in France and eating.

Which character – as performed by Cris Dukehart – was your favorite?

The author, of course.

What’s an idea from the book that you will remember?

Eating while sitting, eating a little bit of everything, eating vegetables. The socialization of dining. I could continue ....

Any additional comments?

I hope this author will write a second book. I would read it with relish.

Must read for parents of small kids!!!

What did you love best about French Kids Eat Everything?

I loved this book!!! So many wonderful points. Thank you for the COOKBOOK! Points I love that are working in my house: If you don't like (vegetable) - you just haven't tried it enough. It's delicious and you will learn to like it. Snacks are a dirty word in my house now, this has been the hardest rule to enforce and stick with but it makes all the difference in the world. If your kids are hungry, they will eat a good meal. I never wanted my kids to be hungry, so I chased them around trying to shovel food in the mouths. What a relief it has been to deny snacks and have hungry children at meal time. Dinner time sucked in our house before this book. Now that we have read this book and are puting this into play - dinner time is actually becoming enjoyable. We also never make threats with regard to food. No more, "If you don't eat, you are going to bed." (It didn't really work anyway!)

Have you listened to any of Cris Dukehart’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I love Cris Dukehart!!! However, at times the recording sounded like an electronic voice. No fault of Cris's.

Any additional comments?

Karen Le Billon is hard headed! Her inflexibility drove me a little crazy but even she was won over :) Thank you for writing this book, I have a 4.5 & 1 year old and it has changed our lives. Thank you for showing me that dinner time can be enjoyable...I actually look forward to it now.

Great Information for teaching good habits

I read this book before my daughter was born and again when we started introducing solids. It provided good, practice advice for teacher her how to enjoy her food and be adventurous with new foods! It’s a great read for all parents!

The only thing I didn’t like was the narrator’s “French” accent. It wasn’t very good and at times could be a bit distracting.

Draws you in. 💕

I had to keep listening. She is so real and raw. Perfect cross culture experience.