3.31.2009

Numchunks disguised as fish sticks!

A few more "foodie books for kids" have come on my radar lately:

  • The Adventurous Chef: Alexis Soyer by Ann Arnold (Frances Foster, 2002) is a picture book biography of Alexis Soyer. I have to admit that I had not previously heard of Alexis Soyer, but I found this a wonderful introduction. The illustrations are detailed and colorful, and the text makes for very interesting reading. The book provides just the right amount of detail: you feel as if you learned a lot but it in no way overwhelms. However, though Soyer was a fascinating character, I don't know a kid who would actively seek this out. There is no other place for this but face-out in a display area if you have any hope of circulating it.
  • I found a graphic novel, Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Knopf, 7.09), at ALA Midwinter and immediately declared it the coolest thing ever. This might actually be one of those rare books that has boy and girl appeal...which certainly doesn't happen very often! This may not be strictly a "foodie book for kids" but I still have to give props to a lunch lady who exclaims "Cauliflower!". And, people, her lunch tray turns into a laptop and her fish sticks are actually numchunks in disguise. Dude! (Note: the 2nd book in the series, Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians , will be released in July as well)

  • For the life of me, I can't remember how I tripped on this, but I recently heard about Cupcakes of Doom, a graphic novel by Ray Friesen. It's more about pirates than food, but how can I not smile when the characters are talking about the "Atlantean Cookbook Recipes for Deliciousness and Destruction." Lord knows that I've created both in my kitchen.

  • Lastly, check out the trailer for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs . The best part? The pancake falling on the school..."NO SCHOOL!"

2 comments:

Anali said...

Lunch Lady sounds awesome! I'll have to check it out!

Carrie said...

My buddy's sister is a 3rd grade teacher and had her students do a writing assignment based on Chance of Meatballs and their work was hilarious and awesome.