Who Fed Zed?

This is the story of Fred, who has two pets, Zed and Jed. His friends, Ted and Ned and the narrator come to Fred’s house to see Jed, but Jed is in the shed (poor fella has fleas). So, today Fred, Ned, Ted and the narrator sit and watch Zed. And, you have to love the first line:

Zed the fish is white and red. His poo hangs down in one long thread. The main thing, though, is what Fred said, ‘Never, ever feed Zed bread.’

The story goes on to explain why you shouldn’t feed your fish bread. But apparently Flea Powder is okay. What??

A story about the importance of reading food labels

When Fred mistakenly feeds Zed flee powder instead of fish food, he thinks he might have killed poor Zed. Meanwhile, poor old Jed is in the shed riddled with flees. They eventually fix the mix-up, Jed gets the flea powder and Zed gets the fish food, but not before a funny, rollicking read aloud that will have kids of all ages laughing at the awesome wordplay.

Food allergies

A story inspired by the author’s experience with food allergies, this is a fun way of broaching the topic and awareness of food allergies in kids. However, what I love most is the way the story and the fun are at the forefront of this book. This is what a fun picture book should be. It’s great to have a message, but it’s more important for kids to focus on the fun of the story, and that’s what this book does so well.

Together with retro illustrations by Adam Nickel that really complement the style of the book, this is a wonderful story for parents and teachers alike – a fun story with a core message that is super important in today’s world.

Details:

Author: Amelia McInerney

Illustrator: Adam Nickel

Publisher: Allen and Unwin, Australia, 2021