Food: Not Just for Eating
June 1, 2012 Comments Off on Food: Not Just for Eating
What do you get the kid who has everything (including an extensive library filled with storybooks)? How about a brand new book that’s unlike any other, a rhyme-filled romp through magical lands made entirely out of—wait for it—FOOD! Carol Warner, a London-based still-life photographer, has created a clever and engaging picture book, titled A World of Food (Ages 2.5-8).
I like food. My kids like food. Really now, who doesn’t like looking at gorgeous photographs of food? Organized by color, each double-page spread reveals a fantastical scene where watermelons become boats (with asparagus as masts), dried cornflakes resemble falling foliage, chocolate KitKat bars stand in for train tracks, and pork ribs morph into jagged mountains (OK, you might want to pass this up for your vegetarian friends).
The main draw for kids is the surprising seek-and-discover component on every page; as my son gasped, “Those trees are made out of broccoli!” With the food not always identifiable at first glance, the alliterative rhymes give kids clues as to what they’re seeing: “Over Pyramids of holey cheese/ And golden grainy dunes/ We’d fly around in pasta ships/ Beneath hot-air balloons.” The gross-out factor is not lost either; the taupe-themed page concludes: “And where the land comes to an end/ There lies a sea of gloop,/ Where you can take a nice warm swim/ In creamy mushroom soup!” (imagine the delighted squeals of “EWWWWWWWW!”).
As a gift giver, you can even take some pride that you’re doing your small part for every parent staring down dinnertime: with kale standing in for grassy hills and zucchini-constructed forests, this book might just convince kids to eat their veggies!
What to Read to Your Kids 