Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert. Red Wagon Books, 1996. ISBN 0-15-201036-X (Board book edition).
Reader's Annotation: Caution! Do not read this book if you are hungry. Ehlert's beautifully depicted fruits and vegetables may cause you to consider gnawing on the board pages.
Summary: Ehlert presents an alphabet book for the very young, where the letters are accompanied by her trademark style of illustration: vibrantly colored watercolor collage. Some of the fruits and vegetables will be quite familiar to young and old alike, while others, such as xigua, could be a new discovery for many readers.
It would be difficult to find a more delicious introduction to the concept of the alphabet and its ordered letters.
Critical Evaluation: The oversized text of the alphabet letters and the names of the fruits and vegetables are all displayed in both upper and lowercase print. This provides the reader with the option of focusing only on the letters for the youngest child, or of including an examination of the individual names while sharing the book with a slightly older child. This multi-level design allows a child's experience with the work to expand as they develop and gain more pre-literacy skills.
Ehlert has captured the look of each type of food with her gloriously colored collage technique. While simple, the illustrations clearly demonstrate the essence of each fruit and vegetable so that they are easily recognizable.
Age or Interest Level: Ages 0 to 4
Awards: The picture book version of this title won the following awards:
Booklist Editors’ Choice, NCTE Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Language Arts, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, Parenting Reading Magic Award
Why Included? The colors and textures utilized by Ehlert in her watercolors are simply beautiful and are enjoyable to examine closely.
How do you Feed a Hungry Giant? A Munch-and-Sip Pop-Up Book written by Caitlin Friedman, illustrated by Shaw Nielsen. Workman Publishing, 2011. ISBN 978-0-7611-5752-6
Reader's Annotation: When a hungry giant shows up in Oscar's backyard, he decides to feed him, but just how much food will it take to satisfy a giant-sized appetite?
Summary: Oscar opens his door to let his dog, Cowgirl, out into the backyard and discovers a giant standing there. This is no scary giant, but a hungry one who carried a sign saying "Food Please". Oscar wants to help, and returns inside to find some lunch for the big guy. Grapes, pizza, chocolate milk, peanut butter, blueberry muffins, and chicken quesadillas are all gulped down, but the giant is still hungry.
After emptying the refrigerator and cabinets of every bit of food, Oscar doesn't know what to do next when he finds that the giant is still hungry. Luckily, Oscar's mom realizes what has been going on, and comes up with a plan to save the day with dinner.
This book features pop-up art, sliding tabs, die-cut windows and doors, and flaps to open, which add interest and an element of interactivity. Additionally, a mini cookbook is attached to the inside of the front cover that includes eight recipes for giant-sized food, including the biggest burger in the world and a pizza-size chocolate chip cookie.
Critical Evaluation: Friedman's narrative is charming and presents a message of the importance of kindness to others without being preachy. The imaginative story line encourages children to not only consider just how much food would be necessary to fill up a giant, but also the possibilities of what could happen each time they go outside - you never know what you might find in your backyard, as Oscar discovered.
Nielsen's illustrations are charming and playful, and are perfectly suited to such a fantastical story. The use of pattern in the giant's clothing, the trees, and the food packaging add a level of detail that invites closer examination. The interactive nature of the pop-ups, slides, and flaps allows young readers to engage with the story, and participate in the character's actions.
My only concern regarding the use of this book in a school or library setting would be its durability. With the pop-up and sliding mechanisms being somewhat delicate, and the non-reinforced binding, this work could suffer damage rather quickly from multiple readings.
Age or Interest Level: Ages 3 to 6
Awards: ---
Why Included? Good food, the value of sharing, and playfulness: this combination is hard to beat. The idea of using this work as a jumping off point for a food drive, as I discovered on the publisher's website, is wonderful, and a great way to involve children in a worthwhile cause.
How did That get in my Lunchbox? The Story of Food by Chris Butterworth, illustrated by Lucia Gaggiotti. Candlewick Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0-7636-5005-6
Reader's Annotation: One of the best parts of a school day is opening your lunchbox to see what's in there. Find out how the food in your lunch, from fruit to cookies, was grown, harvested, made, and transported so that it could end up in your lunchbox for you to enjoy.
Summary: Young children know that their parents buy food at the grocery store, but where did the food at the store come from? Butterworth has taken a typical selection of lunch food and traced each item from it's source until it is transported to market. Bread, cheese, tomatoes, apples, carrots, chocolate chips, and clementines are followed on their journey from harvest to lunch time.
At the end of the text, the author has included two-page spread which demonstrates a full plate of food which has been divided proportionately into the food groups that make up a balanced diet, with a short summary about each group. With a deeper understanding of where food comes from, and how much effort goes into getting it to our grocery stores, children will hopefully gain an increased awareness of why we should not waste food. Reading this book to a picky eater will most certainly be more persuasive than the old, "Clean your plate, there are children starving in China" strategy.
Critical Evaluation: Butterworth has created a wonderfully informative picture book that includes a large amount of detailed, step-by-step processes, but that does so in small, manageable bits that are appropriate to the reading and interest levels of the audience. Gaggiotti's illustrations complement each segment of the text, and demonstrate exactly how each step happens. For example, the process of making bread is described and illustrated during the stages of harvesting with a combine and tractor, grinding the grains at the flour mill, mixing the flour into dough at the bakery, and finally baking the loaves.
The mixed media illustrations are one-dimensional with a very retro feel. The illustrated figures are drawn as cartoon figures, yet are represented in a realistic fashion as they go about their work with the food. Just enough detail is incorporated into the illustrations of the machinery and equipment used to harvest and process the food to present an accurate depiction of the methods used, while still ensuring the content is not over the heads of young readers. Furthermore, Gaggiotti's use of vibrant color in the artwork has resulted in an eye-catching and attractive informational text that invites close examination.
Age or Interest Level: Kindergarten to Grade 3
Lexile Level: 870L
Awards:American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture Book of the Year 2011; NSTA (National Science Teachers Association)-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Books For Students K-12 2012.
Why Included? Our food takes quite a journey to reach us! This book is a lovely way to explain and visually represent that journey. I'll certainly never look at a chocolate chip in the same way again, now that I understand the complete chocolate making process.
