Lensey Namioka, illustrated by Aki Sogabe,
The Hungriest Boy in the World.
Holiday House, 2001.

Many a worried parent has pulled foreign objects from a child's mouth just in the nick of time—buttons, coins, and pebbles, for instance. Their anxiety would surely multiply a hundredfold if they had to look after Jiro, Lensey Namioka's charming and perpetually famished fisherman's son who is unquestionably “The Hungriest Boy in the World.”

Who could ever get angry with Jiro? As skillfully drawn by illustrator Aki Sogabe, he is a too-cute boy with puffy cheeks, who is constantly shoving things in his mouth, seaweed and seashells, for starters. Alas, one day, Jiro swallows the Hunger Monster, and now, Jiro's appetite is beyond appeasing. His family tries one futile attempt after another to rescue their son from the grip of the insatiable monster. It takes a master puppeteer and a lavish spread to finally trick the Hunger Monster out of Jiro's system, and to convince Jiro that it is wisest to just eat what is his rightful portion. Meanwhile, the Hunger Monster awaits its next unsuspecting victim. Let all be warned, avoid all “purple blobs” seductively calling out to you, just begging to be swallowed!

The premise of The Hungriest Boy in the World is a scary one, especially in these times when eating disorders are a source of concern. Still, Namioka manages to impart with mirth and meaning the moral of moderation.

Fatima Lim-Wilson