Parents' Guide to

Pinkalicious

By Regan McMahon, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 4+

Sneaking cupcakes has disastrous results in fun tale.

Book Victoria Kann , Elizabeth Kann Picture Book 2006
Pinkalicious Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

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age 2+

Based on 1 parent review

PBSFanFromChile
PBSFanFromChile Parent of 12-year-old
March 21, 2018
age 2+

Very interesting and educational as a alternative to Disney princesses and Barbie dolls.

Very good book series. Inspired the recent 'GBH series airin' on most PBS stations. Of course, Scholastic will be permanent partner with PBS — since the 90's with the magic school bus and 2007 with WordGirl — so their books will be interesting to read. So many wants to support their local PBS station. Toddlers and even tweens (brothers and sisters of their little brothers and sisters) wants to learn more. On pbskids.org/pinkalicious you can find many games and activities. Here in Chile and many Latin American countries we need a character like Pinkalicious and his little brother Peterrific for arts and culture. Very good for all.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

A little girl greedily -- and against Mom's orders -- eats too many pink cupcakes (which she says are PINKALICIOUS) and the next day wakes up with a totally pink face and body and totally pink hair and clothes. Her mom takes her to the doctor, who declares she has "an acute case of Pinkitis" and says she'll have to eat a steady diet of green food to return to normal. That night, after everyone's asleep, she sneaks into the kitchen and finds the pink cupcakes her mom hid and eats one. The next morning she discovers she's turned all red! To counteract the effect, she eats every green thing she can find in the fridge -- pickles, peas, spinach, artichokes, Brussels sprouts, and more, and transforms back to her original skin color. That's when her dad calls he Pinkalicious for the first time. In a final twist, her brother eats a pink cupcake, turns pink, and shouts, "Pink-a-boo!"

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (5 ):

This lighthearted romp is an entertaining story about consequences -- disobey your mom and ignore doctor's orders and bad things will happen. There's also an implied message that green fruits and vegetables are better for you than sugary baked goods. But kids mainly will enjoy the exuberant energy of Pinkalicious and the funny, magical transformations.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about pink. Why do many girls tend to like it so much?

  • What's fun about seeing kids change into something out of the ordinary. Can you think of any other books or movies where that's happened to the main character?

  • What's fun about seeing Pinkalicious get in trouble and then figure out how to fix the problem?

Book Details

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