Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship [Paperback]

In a nutshell, parents who enjoy the benefits of the paleo diet (also known as the caveman diet) that consists of eating organic meats and seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruit, and nuts while avoiding sugar, dairy, legumes, grains, and refined and processed foods, will like this book as a way to make the lifestyle appealing to their children.

The story centers around Jimmy, who doesn't want to eat healthy food until he meets the Paleo Pals and embarks on an adventure in their carrot rocket ship, during which he learns why some ingredients in processed foods are bad for him (high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils, etc.) and why organically grown fresh, whole foods like vegetables and fruit are good.

Readers need to be aware that it is promoting a specific diet and one thing I didn't care for (even though I do agree with the benefits of the paleo way of eating) is that the book presents people who don't adopt this lifestyle in such a negative way. The food processing plant is presented as evil as it spews a black cloud of pollution into the air. The Paleo Pals take Jimmy to a playground where kids who don't eat "paleo" are depicted as lethargic, sick, sad, unable to do well at anything, and are even aggressive and angry while those who do eat "paleo" are kind, energetic, successful, and happy as if eating paleo is the only factor that makes a child nice or not; successful or not.

While it does make a point about the effects processed foods and chemicals they contain can have on children, it seemed preachy, especially for a children's book since children tend to take things literally when presented with that kind of information. My concern is that kids reading the story might be led to think that how one eats is a moral thing - that those who eat "paleo" are "good" people and those who don't are "bad".

On the plus side, the book does promote a healthy lifestyle of eating fresh, whole, unprocessed foods and that's something every child can benefit from, but it is definitely written for families who are already embracing the paleo lifestyle and want to convince their children that it is better, and likely won't have much appeal to anyone else. There are also some paleo-friendly recipes included that would be healthy for anyone.

I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher but the opinion of it is my own and was not solicited, nor was a positive review required.

Paleo Pals is such a wonderful book that highlights why eating healthy and living a paleo lifestyle is beneficial. The book is about a young boy named jimmy who is not sure that eating healthy is cool or important and involves 3 super hero's, the Paleo Pals who come in and teach Jimmy about the benefits of the Paleo lifestyle. My kids read the book at ages 4 and 9 and loved it; they were excited about the characters (I mean what kid doesn't like a super hero or carrot rocket ship?) and learned about how essential it is to eat good food. They wanted to go to the farmers market immediately to help pick out food to eat! I was impressed with how easy it was for both of my kids to follow the story and understand what was going on. I highly recommend this book! It's colorful, educational and just a wonderful story!

My kids enjoyed this book and it helped them understand why we choose to eat the way that we do. While we don't usually call the way we eat "Paleo" we do focus on meats, lots of veggies and fruits, and healthy fats, so the message was similar. They asked me if a "Paleo" diet was a "Healthy" diet and it gave me a chance to explain healthy eating choices in a way that they understood at their age. While I've always been very open with them about what foods are healthy and which ones aren't, they seemed even more enthusiastic about healthy eating now that the message had come from superheros. They've been careful to ask me if foods are healthy or not, and have enjoyed helping prepare foods. There are some great kid-friendly recipes in the back of the book, along with instructions for how to include the kids in food prep. If you have switched to a healthier, Paleo type way of eating and your kids are struggling with it, this book will help them understand why food choices are important.