Super Sprowtz

What kid doesn’t love super heroes? Get ready to meet the new team dedicated to fighting the evils around us – the Super Sprowtz! They are a group of valiant vegetables, using their veggie powers for the good of others!

As parents, we are always trying to get our children to eat their vegetables. We try to pour rich sauces over them, add butter/salt/sugar, hide them in other food, and the famous ‘choo-choo’ train. Now you can take the mystery out and add in some fun.

Beginning as a children’s menu at a New York pizzeria, Slice, Super Sprowtz is now available in book form. These are great tools in helping your child(ren) to appreciate and perhaps even love eating their veggies. Each character has a ‘super power’ related to the benefit they have on our bodies. Colby Carrot has super sight, Brian Broccoli has super strength, Erica Eggplant is super smart, etc. Miki Mushroom is my daughter’s favorite.

The board book is great for the little ones. Each page offers colorful pictures, fun rhymes, and engaging characters. I like the simplicity of the writing and the humanization of the characters. For example, on the page pictured below your child can learn the value of eating peas in one verse. Plus, the catchy names and outfits make it so easy to identify the real-life vegetables with their ‘super’ counterparts. Parents are given extra facts on the last page to expand upon the health benefits of each.

The apprehension toward vegetables can become harder to weed out as our children grow older. I got a chance to look over the first volume of the series, The Super Sprowtz – Origins. Again, I just love the unique art style. It is imaginative and detailed. The writing style is still simple but tailored well to children up to 8 years old. The included recipes look easy and would make a great hands-on project.

This particular book introduces us to the main heroine, Rayne, and her encounter with the Super Sprowtz. She and her grandfather created a beautiful greenhouse on the roof, only for it to be hit repeatedly by lightening. And so the super veggies were born and they begin their quest to fight environmental baddies!

I’m anxious to see how the adventure plays out in the next couple of volumes. My daughter says, “Me too! I want to read the next book!”

What better way to find out more than to hear from the author, Radha Agrawal, herself:

How did you come up with the concept for Super Sprowtz?
Super Sprowtz was inspired out of a menu I designed for my organic pizzeria, Slice, that my twin sister Miki and I own. We had so many kids coming in and asking questions about our different veggie toppings so I created a menu with vegetable characters to ‘veg-ucate’ them in a fun way! . . . My goal from the beginning has been to do for nutrition what Sesame Street did for literacy and do it effectively and in an entertaining way.

Is there a particular character that you can relate to or is your personal favorite character? Why?
Colby Carrot is my favorite character because although he’s a very lovable Super Sprowtz leader, he is also a little bit of a smart mouth.

What age group is Super Sprowtz targeted towards?
Super Sprowtz is targeted toward kids age 3-8.

Do you have any tips in supplementing the lessons encouraged in the books?
It is natural for us to be afraid of new things and in many cases can be beneficial (never pick your own mushrooms or eat unrecognizable berries while in the woods). To overcome this fear, it is important to get kids to be familiar with their veggies. So we encourage that you let
them play with their vegetables, help pick them in the grocery store, grow something with you and take ownership of veggie heavy recipes in the kitchen. Kids love to be the chef in charge of the kitchen!

Sign up for our newsletter at supersprowtz.com and get the Daily Sprowt: a little something to chew on, to get healthy recipes, nutrition tips, music videos written by the Super Sprowtz themselves! (Miki Mushroom’s Monday Mix etc!) You’ll also receive updates to my weekly vlog entries.

Is any other related merchandise available?
We have four books available in 25 stores and online. We also have an amazing iPhone App, beautiful shirts and cuddly plush toys coming very soon. Keep an eye out! Colby Carrot will be proud!

– Thank you, Radha, for taking the time to share your responses.

We thoroughly enjoy all the rich resources available on the website as well. There are fantastic tips, recipes, games, and more. My daughter loves the video, “All the Veggie-Ladies“. It’s hilarious!

Super Sprowtz presents an innovative approach to getting children to eat and enjoy vegetables. So many children are severely lacking the vital nutrients found in vegetables and I appreciate the work Radha and her team are doing. So help your kids with the Super Sprowtz and don’t be surprised if their side dishes start to get names and they begin to ask for seconds.

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► Giveaway closed, winners announced here!
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WIN IT!

One reader will win a Super Sprowtz book of their choice (board book, vol. 1 Origins, vol. 2 Brian Broccoli, vol 3. Erica Eggplant).

To enter (mandatory):

Visit Super Sprowtz and tell me who your favorite Sprowtz is and why.

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Giveaway ends 3/27/11 at 11:59 PST. Open to US residents only. Winner has 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.

Disclosure: I was provided with the above mentioned product(s) at no charge to facilitate this review, which contains 100% my honest opinion.