I received a free ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this story and illustrations. Love the name of the Deli.

The illustrations are fun and the story is light-hearted and entertaining. Can you imagine an anteater who doesn't like ants?! Well, this author went there, and we discovered a whole new side to anteater.

I am not sure exactly what I like more, the story of the illustrations. But saying that, they need to change the cover and put the anteaters on there. The cover is kind of bland and uninteresting, but the minute you open the pages you are wowed. I loved this rhyming argument between anteaters. It feels a bit like modern seuss and an ode to Green Eggs and ham. Love it. Want a hard copy.

I Don't Like to Eat Ants by J.T.K. Belle is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. What an adorable story! Both the cute rhyming story and the fantastic art work just made me want to smile! The underlying message of trying other foods is there but not so much that the age this book is for will find forceful. It is really delightful! Especially the fact the author used ants as the favorite food for his friend. The main anteater is trying to convince him to try new foods but the other one loves to eat his ants.

I Don’t Like to Eat Ants is a picturebook written by JTK Belle and illustrated by Sabine Mielke. It is currently scheduled for release on August 1 2019. This story follows Anteater One and Anteater Two’s debate over their current diet of ants. Anteater One doesn’t like to eat ants and wants Anteater Two to try new foods, while Anteater Two believes it’s their nature to only eat ants and nothing else. Together, Anteater One and Anteater Two adventure off to the Peanut Butter and Jelly Deli, where they discover that it’s important to try new things, because you’ll never know if you like something unless you’re willing to give it a chance.

I Don’t Like to Eat Ants is a fun book about anteaters arguing about what they should be eating. One anteater is sick of ants and would much prefer cake and rolls while the other is insisting that eating ants is part of their nature, and included in their name. I liked their banter and the way they finally find a common ground. I found the illustrations to be pretty much perfect, illustrating the spirit of the story and having details that made for additional humor. I especially enjoyed the side conversations by the ants throughout the story, I almost missed them, and only noticed them part way through the book so I had to go back and look again. I think this book will stand for multiple re reads and might become a favorite book for some young readers.

I Don’t Like to Eat Ants is a cute story about trying new things and not being tied down by names or expectations. I think this book is well suited for storytimes, sharing one on one, and for emerging readers to read on their own.

Funny book that kids would love to read in the classroom. Teaches about trying new things and being open to friends who are different from you.

Two anteaters argue about the pros and cons of an all-ant diet in this clever take on picky eating. On anteater insists their kind should only eat ants. The other loves a variety of foods - just not ants. In rhyming, lyrical text that is such fun for reading aloud, this is sure to become a story time favorite for preschoolers!

This is a cute enough book about trying new things and not being pigeon-holed into stereotypes. And yes, it IS good to give things a chance! I agree with that moral. On the other hand, literally, anteaters don't have extra mouths where their snouts meet their bodies and the way these anteaters are drawn is anatomically incorrect which is frustrating to me on first read and I think would become infuriating on further readings. It's just.... wrong. Anteater Two even brings it up and it's dismissed as them having an extra-long nose when it is ALSO THEIR MOUTH. So... just, pick a different animal, or invent one, or something. I'm sure kids wouldn't mind, but apparently I do!

This one is about all the yummy food in the world. Anteater 1 decides he has enough ants eaten and wants to try something else, which makes Anteater 2 try to get some sense into his friend.

All anteaters are very articulate and I like the drawings very much: They are colourful and detailed, but only in the parts that matter for the story and maybe an extra butterfly, the backgrounds are bare so you get a very balanced visual on a page. Also, every anteater was assigned a colour and their words are printed in the same, which makes it very easy to understand who says what even if there only happen to be words on a page.

In this, this cute little book met my expectations, but what surprised me was the Shakespeare quote.

As a non-American, I am puzzled by peanutbutter jelly sandwiches, but that's hardly the books fault. The topic of picky eating or being to set in one's way to try something different was resolved in a good way. Would recommend to any reader who likes anteaters or has a little one who might find the green stuff on the table icky.

I recieved this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.


My children and I loved the illustrations, the cute rhymes, and the anteater!

A rhyming book about a traditional ant eater who only eats ants (ant eater #2) and a more adventurous ant eater who likes to eat so many other things (ant eater #1). The rhyming text reminds me of Dr. Seuss’ Thing 1 & Thing 2 characters.

There are little ant characters on most of the pages giving their own side commentary which adds to the humor. Of course they are rooting for ant eater #2 to branch out, hoping they won’t become supper.

I Don't Like to Eat Ants was a fun rhyming story about being yourself no matter what you are "supposed" to be, like or do. The illustrations were engaging, the story flowed easily and I thought it was great for talking about sharing our differences.

ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher.

A fun retelling of a Green Eggs and Ham thematic story. Anteater One wants to try new foods and doesn't like ants, while Anteater Two feels his whole existence is derived from the fact that he ONLY eats ants. By the end of the story, he learns that trying new things can be very rewarding. The story has a lyrical, rhythmic structure that makes it easy to read out loud. It's simple, with a clear Seuss inspiration.

Rating 3.5/5

This was a cute little read about ant eaters trying something new to eat besides ants. My 10 year old son really enjoyed it and gave it 5 stars. He liked how it rhymed and thought many of the scenes were funny. He especially liked the tiny ant commentary on the bottom of the pages.

I Don’t Eat Ants is a sweet rhyming book that serves a dual purpose. Educating us about ant eaters while teaching kids that it’s good to try new things. Ant eater one is all about trying different foods, although his aversion to ants makes me chuckle. Ant eater number two ways nothing but ants. Ant eater number three is a PB & J connoisseur. If this book isn’t a symbolization of toddlers/young kids and their food habits I don’t know what is. Personally I’ve raised a number one and two.

The rhyming was really great. It flowed and didn’t miss a beat. The illustrations were very cute.

As a long-time admirer of the anteater aesthetic, I was delighted to run across this gem by Jeff, Tommy, and Katie Bell. It’s rhyme is steady and natural to read aloud, a characteristic I’ve appreciated since childhood. The unwillingness to try new things, especially foods, has proven to be a problem for the ages. Hopefully the book’s relevance will make it a classic.

Sabine Mielke’s illustrations are vivid, charming, and humorous. The ants are carrying on their own story right under the noses of the anteaters. I’d recommend this book to people who like anteaters, to people who eat food, as well as to the parents or caretakers of picky eaters. This is one I’ll be adding to my bookshelf.


Thanks to Smith Publicity, Picklefish Press, and NetGalley for the provided e-ARC and the opportunity to read this book. My review is honest, unbiased, and voluntary. #NetGalley #IDontLikeToEatAnts

This is a fun story about a picky eater, told in rhyme. Two anteaters are arguing about which kind of food is better: ants or... anything else. Anteater One prefers to try new things, while Anteater Two wants to stick to what he knows. Eventually, they go to a deli famous for its PB&J sandwiches, and Anteater Two finally tries something new.

The pictures are quite cute (aside from the cover illustration, which makes the anteaters look rather menacing; they're really not). I especially like the ants who are interjecting their own tiny thoughts at the bottoms of the pages.

The rhymes, however, are kind of clunky. For some reason, the meter goes off whenever the text contains the words "peanut butter and jelly". It's rather odd, and it makes the book difficult to read aloud.

Overall, though, I think kids will get a kick out of this one. The anteaters are fun characters, and the message about trying new things is always a good one. (I'm still trying to figure out how they eat PB&J sandwiches, since they have no teeth! This is even pointed out in the text, but not really addressed in a satisfactory way.)

This is a cute picture book. I love the illustrations and the back and forth rhyming dialogue between the two anteaters. This is a nice way to encourage kids to try something new. It would be fun to do this as a real aloud, having two different people read the lines for the two main characters.

I read this cute picture book with my 7 year-old daughter, Fiona. She and I both agreed we rated it about 3 1/2 stars. I see now that the "author" is a father and his two children. I am rounding up to 4 stars to support child authors but I'm not sure how involved the kids were in the writing.

This is a rhyming picture book about an anteater who only eats ants (as he's supposed to) and one who wants to eat fun foods like chocolate cake instead. They argue a lot and then finally the ant-eating anteater agrees to try PB&Js and likes them. I think the premise is that you should try new foods but it was a little off for me as all the foods anteater one (they have no names, and are just continually referred to as number one and number two) wants to eat are processed, less healthy foods (chocolate cake, cinnamon buns, sandwiches, etc.). It's not really a surprise that an anteater or anyone else would like those foods and it kind of reminded me of the signs at the zoo telling people to stop feeding people food to the animals because it makes them fat and sick and makes them hate the food they're actually designed to eat. And yes, I admit I overthink things at times. ;)

For the most part, the rhyming works, though it is a little forced at times. The artwork is cute. This book is offered as a free read through Kindle Unlimited and I'd enthusiastically recommend reading it there or ordering it from the library. The hardcover price is a little steep to be worth the buy for me.

My rating system:
1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

If you need a perspectives piece that will win your class over, look no further this is it!

Two anteaters discuss food preferences back and forth through rhymes. Goofy and fun, while modeling having different perspectives.

I actually enjoyed the higher level questioning that’s available in this one, too in case you use this with an older crew or have kids you can push to that level. Can you still be an ANTeater if you don’t like ants? What does a name mean? A label? How do we use them/ fit into them? etc.

I love the two little ants talking below them (kids will LOVE... and shout out!) about this feature.

For originality, I have to say I haven’t read one quite like this and for that in the picture book world it also deserves some props.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars for me, but potentially 5 stars depending on use with students and how hilarious they find this (I think they really might find it funny) / the ways I could finagle how to use this in the classroom! I’ll have to come back to this to know for sure.