NNFN2024: Tasty Tales

My first review for NNFN2024 is ‘Tasty Tales’, a fascinating book which offers ‘facts and fables about our favourite foods’. Each story explores the origin of a well-known dish, piquing the reader’s interest in countries and events from around the world which they might previously have been unaware of. It is a fascinating read - a book for school and home!

Using a light-hearted and engaging style, the stories are accompanied by the author’s bright, colourful illustrations which add much to the book’s appeal. A map at the beginning shows where in the world each food is from and a bibliography is included for those who wish to discover more. I really wish more children’s books would offer this! Some recipes to try are also offered on the author’s website which makes the book even more engaging.

‘Tasty Tales’ would be excellent to use for a series of assemblies. From locating places/ countries/continents on a map to developing general knowledge, they also encourage curiosity in the wider world and allow children to recognise the connections between people as they share these ingredients and dishes and deepen their understanding of others. It might also encourage children to try some foods which they might not have done otherwise!

Full of historical details and the wonderful legends which have developed about some of these foods, ‘Tasty Tales’ is a great example of the stories non-fiction books tell us!

Tasty Tales: Facts and Fables about our Favourite Foods

Anna Lena Feunekes

UCLan ISBN: 978-1915235923

Author, Anna Lena Feunekes, shared this video with us for NNFN2024.

Welcome to our Table

‘Welcome to our Table’ is a highly-engaging, brightly illustrated cornucopia of foody-facts and eating etiquette. Subtitled ‘a celebration of what children eat everywhere’, the emphasis is on the joy of sharing the wonders, surprises, differences and similarities of the food which is eaten all over the world. Authors, Laura and Ed, make it clear in their introduction that it would be impossible to include everything, but the list of countries and places provided at the end shows the wide range of countries they have managed to ‘visit’ on this incredibly interesting and vibrant exploration!

From setting the table to foods which we might eat in the future, the range of topics covered is fascinating! I have to confess that I am fairly pathetic when it comes to food- very unadventurous- so I turned to the page on ice-cream, something I enjoy making as well as eating, with great confidence -only to find that I have only tried three of the types of ice cream named! Pastries and puddings- another area I greatly enjoy!- I have only tried three! Lots for me to try on future occasions! There is so much to learn about the food, customs and eating habits around the world here- and so much to tempt the reader to try something new!

The book also includes food related words and phrases so children can learn how to say something before the meal- like ‘bon appetit’ in French or ‘sahtain’ in Lebanese- and other useful foody phrases. Each page is full of details about the foods we eat and how they are/can be cooked as well as some of the science-y stuff about how we taste.

The book is brilliantly illustrated with lots of colourful, fun pictures on every page, making the book a visual feast- sure to appeal to budding chefs and any one with an interest in food!

Welcome to our Table

Laura Mucha and Ed Smith, illustrated by Harriet Lynas

Nosy Crow ISBN: 978-1839945045

You can read my review of ‘Welcome to our World’ by Moira Butterfield, also illustrated by Harriet Lynas here.

Take a Bite

Full of fascinating facts and recipes from around the world, ‘Take a Bite’ is all about food, glorious food! The Mizielinskis visit twenty-six different countries, exploring global food and cultural traditions. A map on the endpapers identifies the places which the book visits taking the reader from the first wheat fields to the space age meals astronauts eat. The following index introduces the recipes which can be found throughout the book, offering plenty of treats to try and enjoy!

The book starts with Turkey, the ‘crossroads of culture’, discussing the importance of its location for, including other things, the combining of the customs and cuisines of many nations. Here, readers are encouraged to make ‘imam bayildi’ whose name literally translates to mean ‘the imam fainted’. Further on in the book, a visit to Japan discusses the ingenuity of Japanese chefs who used a few local ingredients to create dishes which are both beautiful and delicious whilst the stop in America shows how their food reflects the great diversity of its people- bagels invented by Polish Jews, donuts based on Dutch olykoeks, popcorn inspired by the native inhabitants of North and South America.

The book includes recipes which appeal to those with a sweet tooth as well as those which are savoury. Melomakarona are honey biscuits served in Greece at Christmas and honey gingerbread is a spiced treat from Poland. Pastries from France will come as no surprise and the book offers recipes for both mille-feuille and croissants.

In addition to all the recipes, there is a wealth of information on every page, making this book perfect for dipping in and out of or for focusing on a particular place or culture. It would be an excellent introduction to a country’s cuisine before a holiday or offer an opportunity to try something from a country or culture being studied. It is a fascinating read, including timelines and a comprehensive index to help readers locate information if required.

Take A Bite: Eat Your Way Around the World

Aleksandra Mizielinska, Daniel Mizielinski and Natalia Branowska

Translated by Agnes Monod-Gayraud

Big Picture Press ISBN: 978-1800782884