By Dara L. Cain
Rowan Public Library
With the holidays approaching, I don’t know about you, but I can’t seem to stop thinking about delicious home-cooked meals.
Here are some tasty children’s books that feature food in their stories. There is just something about reading an appetizing book that will make you and your young ones feel all warm and cozy inside, especially with the cold winter weather right around the corner.A must read is “Gingerbread Baby” by Jan Brett. In this story a young boy named Matti opens up to a recipe in a cookbook and begins measuring and mixing out the ingredients with his mother to make a gingerbread boy. To Matti’s dismay when he opens the oven door to take a quick peak, a Gingerbread Baby jumps out of the oven instead of a boy.
“The Gingerbread Baby” begins the game of catch me if you can as he runs out the front door and is chased by pursuers. You must read the story to find out if the Gingerbread Baby escapes his fate. This is a familiar tale with a surprise ending.
“Mercy Watson to the Rescue” is the first book in the Mercy Watson series by Kate DiCamillo. The main character, the loveable “porcine wonder” Mercy Watson enjoys the perks of being a part of the Watson family. During the day he eats his favorite food, hot buttered toast prepared by Mrs. Watson and at night he sleeps in a nice warm bed.
One evening there is a loud boom and then a crack as Mr. and Mrs. Watson’s bed begins to slowly fall through the floor. Will Mercy be able to rescue Mr. and Mrs. Watson or will his dreamlike craving for hot buttered toast distract him from the problem at hand?Can too much of a good thing be too good to be true? In “The Chocolate Touch” by Patrick Skene Catling, John Midas loves to eat chocolate more than anything else. When he finds an odd looking coin he decides to spend it to buy a box of chocolate at a unique store. After eating the chocolate he discovers that everything his lips touch turns to chocolate from the bacon and egg that he eats for breakfast to the musical instrument he plays at school.John’s life starts to become overwhelmingly filled with chocolate and when he gives his mother a kiss and turns her into a chocolate statue he realizes that getting what you wish for may not always be the best thing for you.
The key ingredients that make up this delightful story are friendship, family and scrumptious family recipes. “In Granny Torrelli Makes Soup” by Sharon Creech, best friends since birth Rosie and her next door neighbor Bailey experience some difficult adolescent emotions that affect their friendship.
Leave it to Rosie’s grandmother, Granny Torrelli, to make things better. She gets Rosie and Bailey in the kitchen preparing home-cooked meals together and sharing family stories about forgiveness. Before you know it, Rosie and Bailey are reminded how special they are to one another.
Visit Rowan Public Library to check out these scrumptious books that children are sure to enjoy.