Tasty Travel

There's no doubt about it, children love eating.  Within minutes of finishing one meal, they are asking when the next one will be served.  Eating not only feeds their bodies but their souls. Comforting and fond memories are associated with meals due to words and activities associated with those moments.  Stories are shared.  Lessons are learned.  Hopefully, there is loads of laughter.

One thing they enjoy even more than eating is cooking.  This form of creating appeals to all the senses with a delicious conclusion.  Kids Cooking: Students Prepare and Eat Foods from Around the World (Candlewick Press, October 23, 2018) written and illustrated by George Ancona gives us a peek inside the kitchens of several schools; children traveling to other countries one meal at a time.

Today is cooking day!  There are many 
smiles as the kids head to the kitchen.

In the first school, before the preparation begins, an instructor explains about the root vegetables and fresh ginger used in the recipe from the North African country of Morocco.  These vegetables are accompanied by a sauce called chermoula along with oranges and mint leaves.  Wash your hands everyone!

Gals and guys are taught how to cut the vegetables and measure spices.  As the vegetables roast, the children draw pictures of those vegetables.  Other students work to blend the ingredients for the sauce and two other groups work on the mint and the oranges.  With the cooking completed, all sit at the table to eat.

As-salamu alaykum means "Peace be upon you" in Arabic.

At the next school Chinese-American dishes are made but not before children see where China is located on a globe.  Rice is mixed with an array of chopped vegetables, eggs, soy sauce and garlic.  A cold dish, sweet and sour cucumbers, completes this meal.  Even clean-up is fun for these students.

A pot of soup bubbles on the stove after lots of chopping and slicing.  In another area dough is kneaded and shaped for bread sticks.  Minestrone is a favorite dish from Italy.

In the last two schools children learn about the variety of tomatoes used in salsa.  What else is blended with the tomatoes?  Have you ever made corn tortillas using homemade dough and a press? A tale of tamales and family begins another lesson.  At three separate stations children work on the three parts of a tamale.

Buen provecho estudiantes!


As soon as you read the first three sentences, you are fully aware George Ancona enjoys making books for children especially those featuring children.  The flow of one sentence to the next is a descriptive conversation of each cooking day.  Educators and children are named giving the narrative a personal note.  It's like stepping into the kitchen with the students.

For each meal the ingredients are listed along with safety in the kitchen mentioned.  This is a whole experience for these students and us readers. Here is a passage.

Esteban and Kimberley begin making the chermoula by
chopping an herb called cilantro.  Kimberley adds the spices,
olive oil, and lemon juice.

Then, using a mortar and pestle, Natalie grinds everything
into a smooth, delicious sauce.  Natalie's dad lends a hand.
Family members come to the kitchen to help on cooking days. 


One of the first things you notice about the opened, matching dust jacket and book case (after the pleasing layout) is the faces of the children.  They are doing everything with intention.  They are fully engaged.  This is a hint of the wonder within the pages.  George Ancona is highly skilled at capturing the essence of a moment.  Along the bottom of the front and in one of the spaces on the back are drawings made by the students.

The use of hues of blue is carried over to the opening and closing endpapers covered in a royal blue.  Four new children are featured in squares framing the text on the title page.  Throughout the book in a variety of sizes and points of view, George complements and heightens his text with delightful photographs of the children.

He also includes pictures of the ingredients which are like colorful still life paintings.  Sometimes a portion of an image will be framed in white space or an edge of it will break the border of another illustration.  Nearly every page turn includes artwork by the students.


You are certain to be smiling and craving time in the kitchen or browsing through cookbooks after reading Kids Cooking: Students Prepare and Eat Foods from Around the World written and illustrated by George Ancona.  This author illustrator knows his subjects with the keen eye of a photographer and the heart of a writer.  You can use this title with his other book, It's Our Garden: From Seeds to Harvest in a School Garden.  For a theme on cooking, food, or countries around the world, this book is highly recommended for your professional or personal collections. 

To learn more about George Ancona and his other work, please visit his website by following the link attached to his name.  At Penguin Random House and Candlewick Press you can view interior images.  George Ancona is interviewed by students at Scholastic.  In the acknowledgments George talks about the Cooking with Kids program.  At that website are recipes for some of the food showcased here.


You will want to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the other titles selected this week by participants in the 2018 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Let's Eat!

Every living thing needs some form of it.  Certainly it's been the topic of discussions since the dawn of people.  We sing about it.  We write about it.  We read about it.  We grow, gather, and cook it.  Where we choose to eat and what we eat are questions asked every single day.

Food brings people together for common causes in the form of benefits, food banks or soup kitchens.  In many homes the kitchen and dining room are the center of family discussions; a time to sit down and review and relive the day's events.  There is also a sense of pride in having grown food in your own fruit or vegetable garden.  The Forest Feast For Kids: Colorful Vegetarian Recipes That Are Simple to Make (Abrams Books for Young Readers, February 16, 2016) written and illustrated by Erin Gleeson is a joyful look at food and its preparation.

intro
I've always loved food and art, and I find inspiration for both in nature.  

So begins the introduction by Erin Gleeson telling us who she is, why she has a passion for food, creating recipes and writing cookbooks.  We are then given hints on how to best use this book, what the abbreviations for certain measurements represent and the three basic utensils for measuring.  Through illustrations we are shown which foods are better served peeled and those where peeling is a personal preference.  Word terms, kitchen tools and eight types of cutting, depending on the food and tool used, are shared.

We all need a boost of energy between meals.  The first chapter features five savory snacks made with fruits and vegetables.  Bring the chips or crackers because the Strawberry Salsa is made with five ingredients and the same amount of easy preparation steps.  You'll be craving one each of the drinks, even the Peanut butter avocado shake.  I'm going to try that one first.

Of the listed salads any one of the five would make a delicious lunch or evening meal.  In one melding the flavors of fruit, cheese, vegetables and nuts will have your mouth watering. The Potato-green bean salad has my vote with only two ingredients; the combination of roasting one and mixing it with the crisp raw other, lots of garlic cloves and a single herb.

Entire meals are made with an assortment of fresh vegetables, grains, and beans mixed either with seeds, pasta, eggs, cheese, tortillas, pasta, pizza dough, pesto and fresh herbs such as basil, bay leaves, thyme, or oregano.  If you're one of those people who like to eat dessert first, this next chapter will have you dancing.  You will want to eat every single one but since I have bananas in the house, it's the fried banana split for me.

To close the book four types of food parties are planned:  Grilled Cheese Party, Color Party, Fruity Ice Cream Sandwich Bar and Picnic Party.  For each party a large variety of options are shared.  The Color Party is especially fun.  You will be serving blueberry sparkler, yellow caprese bites, asparagus pastry straws, red salad and sweet potato pizza.  

Other than the introduction and short paragraphs for two of the parties, the narrative offered by Erin Gleeson is limited to naming the five recipes for the first five chapters on the left of the two page title, listing ingredients and short, simple instructions.  The text is in a large font or hand-lettered with arrows pointing to examples.  For some of the recipes she will place circled numbers next to the steps.  Measurements are also shown in metric.


All of the illustrations are drawn and painted by hand or photographs by Erin Gleeson as shown on the front of the book case.  The opening and closing endpapers are a beautiful array of small watercolor fruits, vegetables, herbs and cooking tools spread before us in rows.  The title page showcases landscape from the area where Gleeson lives.  A full page highlights the dedication picturing her and her young son working in their garden.

 The layout and design and the blend of real ingredients with painted visuals is simply beautiful.  On the left of a recipe the ingredients will appear in full color along with a title at the top.  These titles are presented in a variety of fonts on different paper.  On the right the finished food is displayed in its entire delectable splendor.   Children appear in many of the images either making a meal or enjoying one together.

Every single picture will increase your appetite even if you've just eaten but one of my many favorites is the completed carrot and zucchini ribbon pasta.  The background is completed faded drawing your attention to the dish.  A lifted forked twists the carrot and zucchini ribbons and pasta from a plate.  In the lower right-hand corner is a bunch of thyme sprigs. You want to lean in and take a bite.


The Forest Feast For Kids written and illustrated by Erin Gleeson is one cookbook every library will want to have on its shelves.  Families will certainly want it in their personal collections.  Over and over again I have had to replace cookbooks in my elementary and middle school collections.  Children love to cook.  It's like a science experiment you can eat.  Girls and guys are going to gobble this one up for the ease of following the recipes and preparation and the gorgeous visual depictions.

For more about Erin Gleeson individually please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  To learn more about The Forest Feast blog and initial cookbook try this link.  Erin Gleeson is interviewed about this book at Parents.com and the Journal Sentinel.  The Abrams & Chronicle Books website located out of the UK features some interior pages giving you a feel for the layout.
Update:  March 8, 2016 Please visit Jama's Alphabet Soup to enjoy wonderful commentary and pictures on this title. 

Every time I think of food I think of this song.  I have been known to hum or sing it when cooking and serving dinner to guests.





Please be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to read about the other titles selected by bloggers participating in this week's 2016 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Jovial Julia--A Jewel In The World of Cooking

There never has been and there never will be a personality as magnetic as that of Julia Child.  Greeting everything she did with gusto and gumption, she made impressions well-worth remembering.  Her impact on the world of cookery is the stuff of legend.

On August 15, 2012 she would have been 100 years old, having died in 2004 just two days before her 92nd birthday.  To commemorate her contributions and in celebration of her 100th birthday two picture books were released within weeks of one another in May.  The first, Minette's Feast:  The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat by Susanna Reich with illustrations by Amy Bates, a delightful blend of text, pencil and watercolor, is reviewed here.

Bon Appetit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child penned and pictured by Jessie Hartland was featured at Jama's Alphabet Soup with an interesting and informative interview and numerous pages posted from the book.  Five days ago it received a nomination in the picture book nonfiction category of the 2012 Nerdy Book Club Award.  Jessie Hartland has given readers a book that is the essence of Julia Child.


She bubbled over with effervescence, spoke as if she had marbles in her mouth, and gleefully hammed it up in front of the camera.

Yes, that is the Julia Child people around the world grew to love...and still do to this day.  But she did not begin knowing she would be part of a spy mission, move to Paris (among other cities outside of the United States), write a cookbook, or have her own television show.  We are told when she was born and where as well as the number of siblings she had (all tall).

What really endears readers to this child with a mind of her own are the facts of her prankster side; throwing mud pies at cars, playing "hooking" on roller skates and being a tomboy in every sense of the word.  At an early age Julie's love of eating just about anything was evident as was the largeness of her feet---12 shoe size!  Her family's wealth allowed her to attend  private schools and Smith College in Massachusetts where pranks such as painting a toilet seat red continued.

After graduation several writing jobs left her feeling unsettled moving from the east coast back to the west.  It's when World War II starts, a shift starts for Julia too.  The nature of her job with the Office of Strategic Services introduced her to the world of travel and to the love of her life, Paul Child.

The first of many moves associated with Paul's work brings them to France and the Cordon Bleu cooking school.  It is there the recipe for the rest of her life, ingredients added year by year, is first realized.  Connections are made, some continuing for a lifetime, through her zest for bringing the ups and downs of cooking to all people everywhere.


Even without the bibliography at the book's end the writing of Jessie Hartland is spiced like the most flavorful entree with delectable tidbits from Julia Child's life indicating her thorough and complete research and....love of her subject.  The excellence is evident in her details and the way she conveys her information.  She gives readers insight into the personality quirks of her character making her more fully human and alive for us once again.

Here is an example.

Julia's mom only makes dinner on cook's night off and can prepare exactly three dishes:
biscuits, codfish balls and Welsh rabbit.

What the heck is Welsh rabbit?  

It's a mix of beer cheese mustard that is cooked together and served over toast.

Nothing to do with bunnies.  whew.


All of the book's illustrations were rendered in gouache.  The bright turquoise cover with Julia front and center on a old style television screen is an open invitation.  Red and white striped endpapers covered with black-etched doodle-like drawings of ingredients, cooking utensils, and memorabilia of all things Julia are labeled in English in the front and in French in the back.  Every single page is filled with images and accompanying text carefully pieced together like the most loving of scrapbooks.

All of the text is hand lettered varying in size and placement; next to, over, under and around her pictures.  A combination of colors, shades of green, blue, red, brown and gold, are complimented with black and white.  No detail is overlooked.  Hartland even includes a two page spread complete with a 32 step recipe for  a galantine!  An added bonus is her own personal recipe for crepes at the end of the book.


Bon Appetit!  The Delicious Life of Julia Child is so rich in narrative and illustrations you can almost hear the faints sounds of Paris in the background, smell butter warming in a pan and yes...the voice of Julia Child bright, bold, funny and warm guiding and instructing you in yet another cooking endeavor.  Whether you grew up with Julia Child or are meeting her for the first time, there is something in this title for everyone, something about her with which most readers can identify.

I'm Julia Child.  Bon appetit!

Here is a link to the publisher's website with extra images from the title.

Cooking Up Dreams

On any given day children can be seen puttering in the sand and water along a beach; splashing, digging with shovels, hauling treasures in their pails and designing masterpieces in the sand.  They crave fashioning mud pies in neighborhoods after a rain and from the earliest ages have more fun than anyone I know, playing with their food. (except perhaps for the infamous food fights in college) Given these observations it takes no stretch of the imagination to see them eager to extend those skills into the kitchen arena.

Can a young boy's flavorful fancies become a delicious reality?  Renowned Chef Tyler Florence has authored, with illustrations by author/illustrator Craig Frazier, a book, Tyler Makes Pancakes! (HarperCollins Children's Books, April 2012) inviting a younger reading audience to discover the excitement of whipping up a breakfast favorite.  Open the covers of this book to see how an enterprising child spends his morning, with great joy, gathering ingredients, mixing them together and cooking a parent-pleasing meal.

Awakening Tyler looks at his dog, Tofu, telling him of a true gourmet's dream he's had, flying through a pancake-filled space in a pancake spaceship.  At this point the little guy has a definite craving for pancakes.  Shopping list in hand, he sets off for the local market on his bike with his constant canine companion.

Mr. Jones, the grocer is more than willing to lend a helping hand.  As each of the items are gathered, eggs, buttermilk, butter, flour, blueberries and maple syrup, Tyler and readers discover the origins of each.  Homeward bound, Mr. Jones adds cantaloupe and bacon to the basket of goodies.

In the kitchen trading his baseball cap for a tall chef's hat, Tyler gets down to business.  Step by careful step the batter is mixed and ready for the pan.  Dad pops in just in time to assist at the stove.  One satisfied cook admires his golden stacks and already has plans for his next food creation.

Tyler Florence's passion for the culinary arts and his desire to make it accessible to children are evident in his careful, clear and simple storyline.  The one-way conversations Tyler has with Tofu are delightful.  Tyler's questions about each of the ingredients and Mr. Jones's patient, informative replies are easy to understand.

"What's next?" asked Mr. Jones.
"Buttermilk--whatever that is.  Is it butter, or is it milk?  Does it come from a butter cow?" asked Tyler.
"Nope. Buttermilk come from regular cows," said Mr. Jones.  "And guess what?  There is no butter in buttermilk!..."

Illuminating this tale of gastronomic goodness are the pure, pleasurable illustrations of Craig Frazier.  There is such warmth in every scene you can almost smell the pancakes cooking.  The two-tone toasty brown front and hearty blue back endpapers are peppered with ingredients, kitchen utensils and the occasional dog bone.  Within the book stark white pages highlight his colorful palette of blues, golden yellows, browns, reds, greens and spot colors of orange.

Some of his visuals extend across two pages but most are single pages highlighting the events of Tyler and Tofu.  Humor is evident in every sequence through the antics of the slightly chubby pooch; Tofu's dream is of landing on a celestial surface planting a flag with a bone in its center, on the ride to the market he dreams of riding in the basket instead of running alongside, or in the fruit section all we see is the tip of his nose balancing a single blueberry.  Each time Mr. Jones explains, he asks Tyler to imagine the place from where the food item comes.  Pictures show all three characters gathering in the fresh products. My favorite without question is taping the sap for maple syrup in the snowy woods of Vermont.

I was overjoyed to discover that Tyler Makes Pancakes! is the first of three planned books by Tyler Florence with pictures by Craig Frazier.  The inclusion of the recipe, Tyler's Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes, in the back along with some extra Did You Know? further facts is the perfect touch to an already delectable title.  This charming story invites investigations into other food item beginnings, states where products are grown, kitchen safety, or following a recipe.  I love this book more than pancakes; it's going in my cookbook collection.

To venture into the realm of Tyler Florence's culinary world follow the link embedded in his name above.  The first link to Craig Frazier is his main website.  The second link farther down is to his website devoted to his picture books.

This link is to the HarperCollins site where you can browse inside the book.  Julie Danielson at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast has two posts (maybe more) about the work of Craig Frazier here and here.  Enjoy the video below showcasing the book's release and more.

A Cat With Good Taste

Shelves in my dining room are home to more than seventy-five cookbooks and as many magazines.  A single drawer is filled with carefully labeled envelopes stuffed with clipped recipes.  I read cookbooks like some people read fiction. 

Surprisingly enough the students at the elementary and middle school (in my new district) were thrilled when I began purchasing those geared for them to circulate.  The demand was high.  For someone, like myself, who loves to cook for others, I was more than pleased to see my selections enjoyed over the years.

Growing up I can remember hearing the cooking show, The French Chef, on television and even peeking in from time to time to watch.  This week will mark the 100th anniversary of Julia Child's birth on August 15, 1912.  Author Susanna Reich has written Minette's Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat (Abrams Books for Young Readers) with illustrations by Amy Bates, not only to inform but as a tribute to a woman who made cooking joyful for many.

Minette Mimosa
McWilliams Child was a very
lucky cat, perhaps the luckiest
cat in all of Paris.

Within the first pages it begins with Minette in the home of Julia and Paul Child.  But the narrator takes readers back to when the Childs first arrived in Paris; speaking of their affection for one another, their love of exploring the sights, sounds and... the foods of France. They filled their dark, often chilly, apartment with the coziness of family and friends.  Having no children they were fortunate enough to have a cat choose them; filling their lives with the missing ingredient.

Minette's meal of choice was mouse or bird but even in the beginning Julia would serve her little tidbits of leftovers.  Having set her sights on improving her cooking skills, Julie began asking the vendors at the market for advice and eventually signed up for classes at Le Cordon, the creme de la creme of cooking schools.  When Julia perfects a new recipe, the guests's delight is no equal compared to the total glee of the cat when finally receiving her share of the tasty treat.

Susanna Reich sets the table with her words, enticing readers to the meal placed before them; a single portion but nevertheless an important part of Julia Child's life.  Her descriptions flow like a melody.  To start and finish the narrative she uses the same group of sentences, a reflection by Minette about the sounds and smells wafting in and out of the Child home.

Her blend of the cat's daily activities with those of Julia and Paul is seamless.  French words and phrases are introduced into the story, enhancing the flavor.   The last pages are filled with an afterword, notes, sources, a glossary and pronunciation guide and an author's note.

Here is a single passage.

They nibbled croissants in cafes where cats curled on chairs.
They munched on baguettes in bistros where birds warbled in cages.
They dined on rolls in restaurants where little white poodles nestled at ladies' feet.

Out of habit, as is my custom,  I unfolded the book jacket which is designed as two windows.  The front as you can see features Julia, Minette and an array of ingredients, and an open book around her stove with notable architectural structures of Paris in the background.  The jacket back is a window with panes opening outward to the city with kitchen utensils on the counter and the wee little mouse looking from the corner, cheese in hand.

The book's cover though is not a replica of the jacket but a reversal of the final two page spread in the book.  Illustrator Amy Bates, using pencil and watercolor, then gives us endpapers, opening and closing pages in a red-and-white-checked tablecloth pattern.  Warm earth tones permeate throughout as the size and shape of illustrations compliment and extend the storyline.

Detail is exquisite; the numbers on the wall beneath measuring cups showing their capacity, the bent heads of Julia and Paul depicting their love of each other and life, and the period attire on all the characters.  Extras such as the apartment upper floor rooms shown as a cross-section, an invitation to join the Child's world, are an integral part of the illustrations.  If I could frame one illustration it would be the two page spread of Julia in four different working poses as she cooks her heart out in the Paris apartment kitchen with Minette beneath the table eyes glued to the mouse peeking from the hole under the stove.

The writing by Susanna Reich blended with the illustrations of Amy Bates brings to younger readers the essence of an unforgettable American cook in Minette's Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat.  On June 19, 2012 Julie Danielson at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast focuses on the impressive artwork of Bates.  Susanna Reich has numerous links at her website for further exploration.

Follow this link for more biographical information on Julia Child coupled with a short video.

In this video Susanna Reich talks about her career in writing leading up to Minette's Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat.



This interview repeats some information in the previous video but expands on other details.

This combination of Julia Child moments is wonderful.