An engaging literary cookbook that is a feast for the eyes, the heart, and the palate.
This charming third installment in the Fairy Tale Feasts Collection turns to the Middle East and North Africa.
In Marrakesh, Morocco, a young girl gets caught stealing apricots from a garden and wittily explains her way out of the situation. In Cairo, Egypt, a mean miser loses his hoard of money in a swift blow of poetic justice. A pourquoi story set near the Sahara Desert explains why chickens and ostriches cannot fly. This is just a sampling of the 14 original morality tales (not fairy tales, as the book’s title misleadingly promises) gathered here. The structure of the fables—a moral is stated at the end of each one—will feel familiar to both Arab and non-Arab readers. Each story incorporates alimentary motifs and themes and is followed by a complementary recipe from the Arab world; budding cooks will feel inspired to try making mehallabeyat qamaruddin, shish taouk, shorbit adas, and more. English translations of the names of the dishes are provided. The recipes—most of which require easily obtainable ingredients—are uncomplicated, with notes on substitutions and optional add-ins. With the inclusion of backmatter notes covering Arabic literary traditions, origins of the Arabic words used throughout the book, and bits of culinary history, there is much to be learned, even for readers familiar with Arab culture. Both stories and recipes are enhanced with folk art–style illustrations that add a traditional feel, but the dishes aren’t always portrayed accurately in the artwork.
An engaging literary cookbook that is a feast for the eyes, the heart, and the palate. (Fables/cookbook. 8-adult)Pub Date: Nov. 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-62371-908-1
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Crocodile/Interlink
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
An accessible entrance into the world of social-emotional skills.
What do you do when the world turns upside down?
Freckled redhead Tilda is a happy only child with a rollicking personality. With lots of books and toys and a multiracial group of friends, life is perfect as far as she’s concerned…until her world undergoes a troubling change (a subtle hint in the illustrations suggests that Tilda’s parents have divorced). Suddenly, nothing feels right, everything seems hard, and she doesn’t want to play with her friends. To reflect this emotional disorientation, the artwork shows Tilda in spatially distorted settings, complete with upside-down objects. It’s not until she sees an upturned ladybug struggle persistently before getting back on its feet (despite Tilda’s desire to help, the ladybug needs to help itself) that Tilda gains the courage to start taking baby steps in order to cope with her new reality. There are still challenges, and she needs to persevere, but eventually, she regains her zest for life and reconnects with her friends. Despite this, the ending avoids an easy happily-ever-after, which feels just right for the subject matter. Though a trifle didactic, the story sends an important message about the roles of self-efficacy and persistence when it comes to overcoming challenges and building resilience. Percival’s digital illustrations use transitions from grayscale to color to create symbolic meaning and have psychological depth, deftly capturing a child’s experience of trauma.
An accessible entrance into the world of social-emotional skills. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0822-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
A memorable story of kindness, courage and wonder.
After being home-schooled for years, Auggie Pullman is about to start fifth grade, but he’s worried: How will he fit into middle school life when he looks so different from everyone else?
Auggie has had 27 surgeries to correct facial anomalies he was born with, but he still has a face that has earned him such cruel nicknames as Freak, Freddy Krueger, Gross-out and Lizard face. Though “his features look like they’ve been melted, like the drippings on a candle” and he’s used to people averting their eyes when they see him, he’s an engaging boy who feels pretty ordinary inside. He’s smart, funny, kind and brave, but his father says that having Auggie attend Beecher Prep would be like sending “a lamb to the slaughter.” Palacio divides the novel into eight parts, interspersing Auggie’s first-person narrative with the voices of family members and classmates, wisely expanding the story beyond Auggie’s viewpoint and demonstrating that Auggie’s arrival at school doesn’t test only him, it affects everyone in the community. Auggie may be finding his place in the world, but that world must find a way to make room for him, too.
A memorable story of kindness, courage and wonder. (Fiction. 8-14)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-375-86902-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2011
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