THE PRINCE'S BREAKFAST

One young prince with a picky palate tours the world with his parents in search of the right ingredient that will make eating an enjoyable treat.

Desperate to encourage their son to eat a good breakfast, the king and queen launch a culinary world trip. Alas, Indian rice cakes, Mexican tortillas, Chinese congee and even fresh African fruit are all spurned by the stubborn prince with a repeated “No, not I.” Just as they begin the trek back home, the royal family is approached by an energetic old man in Zambia, who offers the solution in the form of a red, tomato-based condiment: ketchup. The finicky young royal eagerly accepts the sauce and downs his ketchup-soaked breakfast from then on. This oh-so-American solution to a familiar child-rearing dilemma may not be nutritionally preferred by more discriminating appetites, but who’s to account for taste when getting kids to eat well is the ultimate goal? Brightly hued, amusing, cartoon-style drawings in acrylic paints and watercolor pencils provide international verve to complement the rhyming verse. The accompanying CD is narrated by Hugh Bonneville.

The king’s evident enjoyment of every new flavor as unfamiliar foods and their names are introduced makes this effort worth sampling for those fussy little diners.