In this tale, young Alex discovers that onions aren’t the only thing in the fridge that can make you cry, and that good eating habits can fend off all kinds of problems.

There’s a Crocodile in Our Pickle Jar by Artie Knapp is a fun children’s picture book about a little boy who doesn’t want to eat his dinner because he isn’t hungry but then wants a piece of cake. However, his parents will only allow him to have some cake if he eats his dinner, which he won’t.

The story has a wonderful twist about what happens next as hunger really does kick in for the boy. Will he eat all of his dinner in the future?

The tale is good fun and the full-page bright and bold illustrations really steal the show. I can see youngsters laughing along with the story and maybe deciding that eating their meals from now on is a good choice.

My tiny criticism of the book is that I didn’t expect it to end when it did. It felt cut off and I was expecting more from the story, especially more from the crocodile given the title.

Overall, There’s a Crocodile in Our Pickle Jar is an entertaining, quick read that little readers will enjoy from cover to cover.

American writer Artie Knapp is the author of over 40 published Children’s Literature works that includes books, videos, stories and poems. In Asia, HarperCollins, Orient BlackSwan, Oxford University Press, and Pearson Education have published many of his children’s stories in course books.

His children’s books include, “Little Otter Learns to Swim,” published by Ohio University Press, and “Stuttering Stan Takes a Stand,” which was originally published by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Speech Pathology Department, the largest such program in the United States.

Artie is a member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and graduated from Ohio University. He lives outside of Cincinnati, Ohio.