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EAT YOUR WORDS

A FASCINATING LOOK AT THE LANGUAGE OF FOOD

An entertaining and informative presentation of all sorts of tidbits concerning the history and meaning of food-related words. Jones (Accidents May Happen, 1996, etc.) humorously relates how certain foods—beef Stroganoff, Caesar salad, eggs Benedict, etc.—obtained their names. Included are foods named for places, places named for foods, the origins of favorite terms and phrases, such as “a baker’s dozen,” “bring home the bacon,” “corny,” “couch potato,” “sell like hotcakes,” “spill the beans,” and more. O’Brien is once again Jones’s collaborator, providing sophisticated black-and-white cartoons that enhance the humor of this collection of tongue-in-cheek, entertaining anecdotes for gastronomists and trivia buffs alike. (bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 8-14)

Pub Date: May 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-385-32575-4

Page Count: 88

Publisher: Delacorte

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1999

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KING MIDAS AND THE GOLDEN TOUCH

PLB 0-688-13166-2 King Midas And The Golden Touch ($16.00; PLB $15.63; Apr.; 32 pp.; 0-688-13165-4; PLB 0-688-13166-2): The familiar tale of King Midas gets the golden touch in the hands of Craft and Craft (Cupid and Psyche, 1996). The author takes her inspiration from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s retelling, capturing the essence of the tale with the use of pithy dialogue and colorful description. Enchanting in their own right, the illustrations summon the Middle Ages as a setting, and incorporate colors so lavish that when they are lost to the uniform gold spurred by King Midas’s touch, the point of the story is further burnished. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: April 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-688-13165-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999

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THE LEGEND OF THE LADY SLIPPER

AN OJIBWE TALE

Lunge-Larsen and Preus debut with this story of a flower that blooms for the first time to commemorate the uncommon courage of a girl who saves her people from illness. The girl, an Ojibwe of the northern woodlands, knows she must journey to the next village to get the healing herb, mash-ki- ki, for her people, who have all fallen ill. After lining her moccasins with rabbit fur, she braves a raging snowstorm and crosses a dark frozen lake to reach the village. Then, rather than wait for morning, she sets out for home while the villagers sleep. When she loses her moccasins in the deep snow, her bare feet are cut by icy shards, and bleed with every step until she reaches her home. The next spring beautiful lady slippers bloom from the place where her moccasins were lost, and from every spot her injured feet touched. Drawing on Ojibwe sources, the authors of this fluid retelling have peppered the tale with native words and have used traditional elements, e.g., giving voice to the forces of nature. The accompanying watercolors, with flowing lines, jewel tones, and decorative motifs, give stately credence to the story’s iconic aspects. (Picture book/folklore. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-395-90512-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1999

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