A NUTRITIONIST from Henley has written the third in a trilogy of children’s stories designed to help them understand the importance of healthy eating.
Kate Taylor launched her business, Eat Drink Think Nutrition, now at the Cherry Tree Centre in Hart Street, two years ago.
Last year, she published the first two books, Vegetables Galore and the Mystery Behind the Library Door and Vegetables Galore Take a Trip to the Farm.
Now she has written Vegetables Galore: Eggs’ams, Eggs’ercise and Eggs’its.
Kate says: “The books are all quite different. The first one was very much about little vegetable sproutlings, you know, they go to school, they form their friendship groups, they solve a mystery, they meet their teachers and are introduced to their school lessons. It’s basically about a mystery and making friends.
“In the second one, they go to a farm for a school trip and learn all about the environment and farming and where real food comes from.
“I wanted to put that in a children’s book because there’s so much reliance on food which comes out of a box, not through any issue other than just lack of time.
“I wanted to introduce an element of nature and food that comes out of the ground, so they go on a school trip to a farm and the emphasis is very much on the environment and school projects.
“For this third one, the characters are ending their school time and they’re all kind of coming into their own, realising their own
talents.
“There’s a bit about exercise, which is about a sports competition, so that’s the ‘eggs’ercise’.
“The ‘eggs’it’ is because the science teacher, Professor Potato, is retiring so it’s about him finishing off his science lessons and leaving a legacy.
“Because they’re finishing school they have their ‘eggs’ams’ and it’s all about them trying to discover what they want to do in the future for their studies or their jobs.
“It’s slightly more academia-
oriented but it’s also emphasising the fact that they’re all different and they all have different strengths and talents and whatever you’re good at, you can make a future for yourself with those attributes.”
Kate was partly inspired by a vegetable cuddly toy given to her by her young nieces. She says: “I have tried to make it interesting for seven- to 11-year-olds and cover all the bases, so there’s friendships, talent, sport and very gentle references to nutrition and healthy eating.
“There are also recipes at the back of all of the books. Because I’m a nutritionist I really tried to gently insert those references in a way that children and hopefully adults would be able to fully understand and then possibly take forward into their everyday lives.”
The book was released just in time for International Children’s Book Day last month.
The illustrations have once again been created by local artist Felicity Neal.
• Vegetables Galore: Eggs’ams, Eggs’ercise and Eggs’its costs £9.50 and is available on Amazon and from the Bell Bookshop in Henley. For more information, visit www.eatdrinkthinknutrition.co.uk