For our family, one of the best parts of getting into the summer season is being able to tuck into great foods. Gone are the heavy casseroles and warming soups, and in comes plenty of salads, fresh fruits and of course barbecues – when the weather allows!
It’s great to discover books which also feature our favourite foods, or some new things to try. Here are the books we’ve enjoyed:
Watermelon Madness – Taghreed Najjar and Maya Fidawi
Noura is crazy about watermelon. She wants to eat nothing else, every day, at every meal. In fact, Noura thinks there is no such thing as too much watermelon. Until one night, when the watermelon she has hidden in her room to eat all by herself begins to grow and Noura gets taken on a wild watermelon adventure!
We really loved this book, it has bright vivid illustrations which really bring the story to life plus its a situation common to many children, who just want to eat their favourite food all day long. As a side message, it was also great to be able to talk to my son about dreams, and what might happen in them.
Available on Amazon (UK).
Pasta Kidz – Bryony Supper and Julian Bray
‘The Pasta Kidz™ and Petz Adventures’ are humorous, zany, magical and chaotic stories that bring together the pasta-themed Kidz – including Sarah Spaghetti, Rikki Ravioli, Camilla Cannelloni and their creative Petz – Mumbo the Macaroni Dog, Spud the Spaghetti Horse and Val the Vermicelli Snake together in unusual circumstances, engaging with strange magical objects that have a life of their own.
We read the first book in the series (The Inventing Tubes) which features the adventure of Marc Macaroni and Sarah Spaghetti when they discover that the inventing tubes can create Pastaballs. The books feature a special pasta language, which adds to the innovative appeal of the book. Who doesn’t love pasta?!
Available on Amazon (UK).
Edgar and the Sausage Inspector – Jan Fearnley
Edgar and Edith are hungry, and it’s up to Edgar to bring home something tasty. But just when Edgar finds some delicious sausages, they are taken by The Inspector, a very important-looking rat with a big hat.
My son is pretty much obsessed with sausages, and would eat them constantly, so any books which feature them are bound to be a big hit. He was outraged that the rat would take the sausages away, which in itself prompted a great discussion. The conclusion of the story is brilliant, and a nice way to illustrate that crime doesn’t pay!
Available on Amazon (UK) and Nosy Crow.
The Jelly that Wouldn’t Wobble – Angela Mitchell and Sarah Horne
It is Princess Lolly’s 89th birthday and she is holding a banquet. For her birthday the cook has made the most magnificent jelly. However, the jelly refuses to wobble!
‘Jelly on a plate’ is a very popular song in our house, from both my son and daughter, but my attempts at making jelly are somewhat lacking! In this book, unlike my jellies, there is no sign of any wobble, because the jelly doesn’t want to be eaten. All of the guests at the banquet try to get it to move, but it’s only when it’s put with some ice cream that it does start wobbling!
Whilst some may argue that the message of this book isn’t suitable for children (!), we all really enjoyed it, and had much fun becoming jellies ourselves and wobbling around the lounge!
Available on Amazon (UK) and Maverick Books.
Stick With The Indies 