"A sensible, succinct and easily digestible story of good intentions gone wrong."
—The Economist

"Veit is a wonderful writer who brings to her subject a wealth of research and an attitude of refreshingly non ideological neutrality... If you have ever sat at a restaurant, marveling at the bilge offered on the kids’ menu and wondering how on earth we got here, Picky has the answers."
—The Wall Street Journal

"The picky eating habits of contemporary U.S. children were far from inevitable, according to this enlightening study... a rigorous and persuasive call for change."
—Publishers Weekly, Starred

"Recounts how kids went from eating jellied brain to consuming, like my toddler, little but macaroni and cheese." —The Atlantic

"A sensible, succinct and easily digestible story of good intentions gone wrong."
—The Economist

"Compelling... Veit’s evidence and narrative convinced me that my son is capable of better eating than I thought."
—The Bulwark

"Veit argues that parents should promote diverse diets to raise healthier and happier children."
—Booklist

"Like many modern parents trying to figure out how to feed my kid, I often feel trapped between contradictory – and equally dogmatic – approaches. Helen Veit shows us that these anxieties are not inevitable."
—Mara Gordon, MD, NPR contributor and “Your Doctor Friend” on Substack

"This well-told history explains how a wrongheaded notion became conventional wisdom, with disastrous consequences for kids and parents alike."
—Laura Shapiro, author of What She Ate

"A profound historical investigation and a call to action."
—Paul Freedman, Department of History, Yale University, author of Why Food Matters

"In her meticulously researched and eminently readable history of children's eating habits Helen Veit reveals not only how American kids learned to be such picky eaters but exposes the food attitudes of the grown-ups in the kitchen."
—Michael Krondl, author of Sweet Invention

"In breezy, often humorous prose, Helen Veit traces the many forces that created today’s ‘kid food’ and upends our assumptions about the foods children can and will eat with gusto."
—Bettina Elias Siegel, author of Kid Food

"Picky shows us how picky eaters aren't born but made and shows parents how to sort through the conflicting advice to help their children become happy, healthy eaters."
—Andrew Coe, author of James Beard Award-winning A Square Meal

"We loved the book."
―Mark Bittman, author of How to Cook Everything