More Great Reads for Culinary Kids (and Hungry Adults)
Feb 9th, 2010 by Marilyn
One breezy Chicago summer, my brother and I built a treehouse.
Wait! You don’t need that intro again. You don’t need to hear me wax poetic about books in the trees, or Jo March, or the Bobbsey Twin’s Luau. You just need to know that today we’re revisiting Great Reads for Culinary Kids, and that we’ve added marvelous reader suggestions to the list, and have plenty of room for more.
Here’s the original list Josie and I compiled, plus a new selection from our readers. They run from picture books to young adult (or 42-year old adult). Do you have a favorite food read, or a great food scene you never forgot? Add yours to the list. Happy (and Hungry) Reading.
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Fanny at Chez Panisse Alice Waters, 1997
Truly charming story-plus-cookbook by a culinary royal. Alice Waters describes how her young daughter, Fanny, spends her days at mom’s famous Berkeley restaurant, sorting tiny eggplants, hiding in stock pots and watching chefs at work.
Bread and Jam for Frances Russell Hoban, 1964
Frances will only eat bread and jam, so her mother gives it to her for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I would like to reenact this as “Deep Dish Pizza for Marilyn.”
Blueberries for Sal Robert McCloskey, 1948
The classic picture book of blueberry picking, a bear cub, mothers and life in Maine.
Amelia Bedelia Peggy Parish, 1963
I always liked the many good qualities of free-spirited Amelia Bedelia: she was a tall, skinny smiler, and she cheerfully screwed up everything. I particularly admired the way she could neutralize any angry person by feeding them lemon meringue pie.
In the Night Kitchen Maurice Sendak, 1970
Though there was controversy over the depiction of a nearly baked-in-a-cake naked boy, all I saw was a fantastical look at how a bakery worked overnight. Sendak’s illustrated world – especially with flour and sugar – never fails to stop me in my tracks.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle, 1969
The classic caterpillar eats every food in sight, until he finds all he really needs is one plain and perfect green leaf. Truth? I didn’t want him to eat the leaf. I wanted him to keep eating salami and ice cream.
Eloise in Paris Kay Thompson, 1957
I was lucky to inherit a stack of 60′s-era Eloise books, and Paris was my favorite. Her champagne cork necklace! Baguettes! Dinner at Maxim’s! It was all rawther delicious.
Little House in the Big Woods Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1932
I could blog every day for a year about the Ingalls family and how they rest in the mind of most every woman I know – but for now I’ll just serve highlights: maple syrup snow, sideboard of pies, sour pickles, a crackling pig’s tail. Onion wreaths in the root cellar. So memorable were Laura’s food passages that they eventually filled The Little House Cookbook, as noted in this lovely post by Paige Smith Orloff.
Strega Nona Tomie DePaola, 1979
A wise Italian witch with the power to conjure up pasta. What’s not to love?
Heidi Johanna Spyri, 1880
One of my all-time favorites, the story of a Swiss girl and her grandfather in the Alps is really about toasting golden cheese, curing sausages, warm goat’s milk, and soft white bakery rolls. Do not be fooled by the jacket copy. It’s all about the food.
Anatole Eve Titus, 1956
And here is where Simmer readers fall down. Yes indeed, I love a book about a mouse, a mouse who wears a beret and tastes cheese in the cheese factory. When I first read it – decades before the pear incident – I was dazzled by his little scarf, and all those Bries and bleus.
Strawberry Girl Lois Lenski, 1945
A terrific book I never forgot – Lois Lenski’s story of hard living for rural Florida “crackers,” a detailed, often sad picture of Birdie Boyer and the tough world around her. Strawberries are everywhere, all about growing them, picking them, eating them. A classic for 9-12 readers.
James and the Giant Peach Roald Dahl, 1961
This book made me dream of waking up, rolling over and eating chunks of peach from the wall. Enough said.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone J.K. Rowling, 1997
Oh sure, there’s dueling and wands and danger, but what thrills me at Hogwarts is dessert. I mean, Dumbledore claps his hands and profiteroles fill the hall. Magic, or what?
Suggested by readers and family, the additions:
Farmer Boy Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1933
Both my 13-year-old daughter Josie and the full-grown Merrill Stubbs from food52 added another Laura Ingalls Wilder classic, Farmer Boy. The story of Almanzo Wilder – young Laura’s future husband – is possibly the most food-rich “Little House” book of all. And that’s certainly due to the prosperity of the New York State Wilders, who were always ready to feast: flapjacks and eggnog, braided donuts and candy, roast pork and golden pumpkins.
Dim Sum for Everyone! Grace Lin, 2001
Reader Julie Whitehorn suggested great books like Frank Asch’s Moonbear and Karen Wallace’s Scarlett Beane, but the one that caught my dumpling-loving eye was Grace Lin’s Dim Sum For Everyone! A girl visits a dim sum restaurant with her family and chooses treats to share from the rolling trolleys: cakes, buns, tarts and – of course – dumplings.
All-of-a-Kind Family Sydney Taylor, 1951
Both blogging singer Emma Wallace and my super-reader cousin Robin noted one of Josie’s all-time favorites, the All-of-a-Kind Family series. The books tell the story of a Jewish family living on New York’s Lower East Side in the early 1900′s – wonderful characters, but what everyone seems to remember is the food: penny candy varieties like chocolate babies, chicken corn, lemon-snap and ginger; stuffed sour cream blintzes and pickles, and descriptions of “chick peas! fine, hot chickpeas!”
A Girl of the Limberlost Gene Stratton Porter, 1909
Savour Fare’s Kate suggested this unusual classic, the story of Elnora Comstock, a poor rural girl who catches rare moths to put herself through high school. In one remarkable scene, Elnora opens her lunch box: “She scarcely could believe her senses. Half the bread compartment was filled with dainty sandwiches of bread and butter sprinkled with the yolk of egg and the remainder with three large slices of the most fragrant spice cake imaginable. The meat dish contained shaved cold ham, of which she knew the quality, the salad was tomatoes and celery, and the cup held preserved pear, clear as amber.”
A Book Buffet from Pinot and Prose:
As a serious cook and former librarian now in children’s publishing, blogger Laura Lutz knows her way around “foodie kid lit.” Laura’s recommendations:
“I can’t say enough about Kitchen Dance by Maurie Manning – it captures not just the joy of food but the kitchen as well.”
“The Adventurous Chef: Alexis Soyer by Ann Arnold also gives kids some culinary history info – I found out a lot that I didn’t know. Also on culinary history, Bring Me Some Apples and I’ll Make You a Pie (the story of chef Edna Lewis) by Robbin Gourley is particularly well-written.”
“For older readers, I loved Dear Julia by Amy Bronwen Zemser – this is appropriate for tweens even though the characters are older. I also ADORED Madame Pamplemousse and her Incredible Edibles, by Rupert Kingfisher. It’s super short but holds so much magic in such a tiny package.”
“For teenagers, The Sweet Life of Stella Madison by Lara M. Zeises is really wonderful. Great characters, fantastic food descriptions.”
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Sara at Culinerapy – and countless others – reminded me about Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi and Ron Barrett. Sara particularly loves “its pea soup fog and Cream of Wheat snow banks.” Erin Nichols recalled great food scenes from Beverly Cleary’s Ramona Quimby, Age 8 including “the infamous egg-bashing on head incident, and the yogurt-marinated chicken dinner that she and Beezus make for their parents.” Finally, Beach House’s Jane notes that both Alice in Wonderland and Babar feature plenty of incredible eats.
Your turn! Add your own favorite read for culinary kids (and this now-very-hungry adult).
* Print the whole list? Why not. Click here for a PDF.
Robert McCloskey, of ‘Blueberries’ fame also wrote another somewhat food oriented book called ‘One Morning in Maine’ that I believe featured Sal, her little sister and a clam dig where she lost a tooth, but got an ice cream cone and Clam Chowder. And not that it’s food related at all, but McCloskey also penned the mighty ‘Make Way for Ducklings’ one of my all-time favorite childhood reads.
And while the subject matter is sad and morose, ‘A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ by Betty Smith contains some pretty amazing food memories as recalled by Francie and her brother Neeley.
Eating the Alphabet, by Lois Ehlert, a beautiful, color-saturated journey into the beauty of fruits and veggies. Also: teaching 2 year olds K is for kohlrabi is hilarious.
Sushi for Kids: A Children’s Introduction to Japan’s Favorite Food by Kaoru Ono. From fish to feast!
Oh, the attic banquet and the gifts from the Magician in A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett! And the cottage treats and baked piping hot potatoes and roasted eggs in The Secret Garden.
The Mice of Bistrot des Sept Freres by Marie LeTourneau. Why not a picture book about the best cheese soup competition in France- for mice?
I can’t believe I keep forgetting to write it up, so I’ll mention it now: LITTLE WOMEN. The blancmange, the limes, Jo using salt instead of sugar. It’s all in there!
Kate: that’s the second time someone told me about “One Morning in Maine.” Thanks, and I’ll check it out.
chicagowench: Oh, the attic feast in A Little Princess – I love it. Have you seen the movie version with Shirley Temple?
I absolutely second “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” – the description of them eating leftover Roquefort and lobster – “they would have digested nails, had they been able to chew them” – and roasted chestnuts and a pie that tastes like soap.
I also always loved the descriptions of the food in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles (“Dealing with Dragons”) and how Cimorene prepared buckets of chocolate mousse and cherries jubilee.
Oh good cracky, revoke my parenting cred. NARNIA. Land’s sakes, the tea with Mister Tumnus, dinner with Mister and Missus Beaver!
Mar, have you seen the more recent version of A Little Princess, with Liesel Mathews? Gorgeously done (Alfonso Cuaron directed, before he did Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban).
Also, I just read A La Carte, another Julia Child-influenced YA book, by Tanita Davis (her Mare’s War got a Coretta Scott King Honor this year, which is what led me to it). Definitely recommended, recipes and all. (And Dear Julia is on my shelf as we speak, because of it.)
A favorite as a mother of four: The Bunnie’s Picinic by Lezlie Evans
My childhood favorite since the dough that wouldn’t stop was mesmerizing: Bembelman’s Bakery by Melinda Green
Play with Your Food and all the other picture books illustrated with food by Saxton Freeman and Joost Elffers
The Blueberry Pie Elf by Jane Thayer
The Gardner by Sarah Small
Enemy Pie by Derek Munson
Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech
Food Fight by Carol Diggory Shields
The Bee Tree, Thundercake, My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, Chicken Sunday, all by Patricia Polacco
Wow! Thanks for all the great books. I’m loving the expanded list.
Also – the Richard Scarry books always held wonderful food, especially in the drawings. I recall that in one book, a cat detective locates a string of stolen pearls – in a restaurant vat of pea soup.
Besides In the Night Kitchen, we love Chicken Soup with Rice (a Book of Months) by Maurice Sendak.
The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin is a great cooking story. It tells how a young girl doesn’t understand why her mother grows big, ugly vegetables in their garden instead of the beautiful flowers their neighbors grow. Her opinion changes when good smells come wafting from her kitchen and her neighbors clamor for a taste of the delicious soup her mother creates. A terrific story that even includes the names an English pronunciations of the ugly vegetebles and a recipe for the soup. My son always giggles at the strange pronunciations. A fun story!
I was a kid in France until I was 10 and everyone read the books of La Comtesse de Ségur which I’ve never found in translation in the US. One of them is called Les Malheurs de Sophie (Sophie’s misfortunes) which is basically all about this extremely naughty and interesting little girl who does such things as eat whole jars of jam and have terrible stomach aches afterward. I love that book.
These are all so wonderful! One of my favorites is Roald Dahl’s Matilda. Tea and toast with Miss Honey…and Bruce Bogtrotter eating the entire chocolate cake.
In the non-fiction category, you must pick up Hungry Monkey, from Matthew Amster-Burton.
I would second that “Hungry Monkey” recommendation; Amster-Burton debunks myths about cooking for your kids, writing that you CAN cook with salt, spices and wine even if your toddler is going to eat it. Plus, he includes some great Mexican recipes. Also in the non-fiction category, check out Pam Abrams’ “Gadgetology,” a fun and practical guide to get kids in the kitchen and using kitchen tools for non-cooking projects and games.
Okay. This is honestly the best book ever. The Twenty-One Balloons, by William Pene Du Bois. It’s not very well known, but it’s good for all ages, and it has AMAZING food in it.
Chicagowench, thanks for the mention of my book, “The Mice of Bistrot des Sept Freres” – It is greatly appreciated and humbling. There is an original cheese soup recipe available on my website to go along with the book at http://www.marieletourneau.com. I hope you enjoy and have fun making it!
Wonderful picks here from everyone! All the best!
Marie
Cookies count as food, don’t they? “The Cookie Store Cat” by Cynthia Rylant features a cream fed, dough eating baker’s cat who visits other nearby shops (book, fish, and yarn) when he’s not busy being adored by the various cookie loving customers. Many specific cookies are mentioned by name, and those named have their recipes at the end. It was a sweet and innocent pre-schoolers’ favorite at our house.
Just thought of another favorite – Roald Dahl’s “Danny the Champion of the World.” The way the characters talk about toad in the hole, “with the Yorkshire pudding very crisp and raised up in huge bubbly mountains and the sausages nestling in between the mountains.” I remember I had no idea what “toad in the hole” was, but I wanted it so badly.
What a great list! I’ve read many of them, especially Laura Ingalls Wilder, but certainly not all of them! I will have to take the list to the library this weekend to see what they have!
Yet another Roald Dahl that I don’t think anyone has mentioned yet: Fantastic Mr. Fox! Fizzy cider, doughnuts, roast chicken — you name it, this book has it. I also love both the Boxcar Children and the Milly Molly Mandy books for their food references.
Marie, I assure you. That soup has been consumed by the gallon in this house. Often accompanied by a nice baguette. Your book duly inspired a little boy.
Oh my word! What an amazing selection. I’m almost embarrassed to admit, I had no idea there were so many delectable books for children. I know what’s going in the next “care” package I send off to Idaho. Thanks for sharing, Marilyn and thanks to everyone for their recommendations too!!!
oh…you have covered so many wonderful ones!!.Some I have…some I need to get~!
I have a niece whom I absolutely love to death, and what can be a more beautiful gift than this, coming from a food-obsessed Aunt. Love the list, M. x shayma
Chicagowench, I am SO glad to hear someone is making that soup! My goodness, I hope everyone enjoys it! I make a vegetarian version for my daughter using veggie stock instead of chicken stock. Just as good (although I prefer the chicken) Eat, drink, be merry and Bon Appetit
Warmly,
Marie
“Homecoming”, by Cynthia Voigt. This is the prequel to “Dicey’s Song”. Dicey and her younger siblings make their way down the Eastern seaboard in the hope of finding a home with the grandma they’ve never met, and acquire food by fishing or by odd jobs for spare change. There are descriptions of clambakes, double-dip ice cream cones, campfire-roasted chicken and potatoes, hamburgers and cold sodas after walking miles in scorching sun. They have to budget so carefully and are so hungry that the simple food tastes wonderful. At the grandmother’s, they get fresh harvested vegetables and their first taste of steamed crabs. As well as wanting those goodies myself, I liked reading about the kids acquiring them through a combination of hard work, kindness and luck.
What a wonderful list.
I will have to add a dear childhood favorite, “Old Black Witch!”, by Wende and Harry Devlin, 1963. Nicky and his mother buy an old house to convert to a tea room, just to discover the very grumpy old black witch inhabits it. She is allowed to stay, but only if she helps serves tea and blueberry pancakes to the guests.
For my 6th grade Home Economics class (only girls) I read the book out loud and demonstrated making blueberry pancakes in our mini classroom kitchen. These were the years of Julia Childs on public television. It was all about theatrics.
Hey there Marilyn! What a lovely post. Let me add a book that is a favorite of my three monsters, and I have to say that I do love it immensely as well. The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman. Makes us laugh each and every single time we read it and we have read it hundreds of times… What we always say we will do, and have never done, is bake that cake at the end of the story, just thought of that…
Many hugs
Pati
I loved the All Of A Kind Family books! I totally remember the descriptions of the penny candy – twirling the cone of paper, dipping the scoop in the barrel, how slowly the girls would eat the crackers so they could saver them as long as possible. Thanks for the memory!
Great list! Another fantastic foodie read with kids is Herb the Vegetarian Dragon, by Barefoot Books.
One more to add to the list The Rascally Cake by Jeanne Willis playful and gross just like kids enjoy and full of great poetry in the style of Dr Seuss