As the temperatures dip and snow flurries appear, I look forward to cooking comfort foods and cuddling up for more story times with my kiddies. What better books to find for this season then ones that focus on cooking and eating!
Soup Day by Melissa Iwai celebrates a trip to the local green market, a quiet afternoon at home and the joy found in making a pot of homemade goodness in a wonderfully illustrated picture book. From choosing the vegetables to picking the pasta shapes, the journey of cooking homemade soup is filled with small learning lessons that are incorporated in a subtle way. Carrots become circles, onions become square and parsley becomes confetti. The author even shares her own “Snowy Day Vegetable Soup” recipe at the back of the book. I absolutely love reading this book to my children. My youngest loves the colors and naming the veggies, while my older child is very into shape identification. The illustrations are amazing, and I’d love to mat and frame one. Soup Day published by Henry Holt/Christy Ottaviano Books is recommended for ages 4-8 and retails for $12.99.
Don’t Let Auntie Mabel Bless the Table by Vanessa Brantley Newton is a joyous appreciation of how traditions and rituals bring us, and keep us together. Auntie Mabel and her family have gathered for a delicious Sunday dinner: sweet corn and black-eyed peas, Virginia ham and mac and cheese, candied carrots and collard greens, mushroom gravy and lima beans. But, before they begin, Auntie Mabel starts – and doesn’t stop – blessing everyone and everything: the yams and Brussels sprouts, the table and chairs, and even the President of the United States. Everyone’s hungry. Will dinner ever be served? My daughter and her grandmother laughed aloud reading this story. It is adorable. Grandma loved how her favorite tradition, saying grace, was incorporated in a storyline for the little ones. She has already ordered three more copies to share with her pastor and friends. I liked how the illustrations included so many different types of people in one family – all shapes, sizes, ages, skin tones and style of dress. Don’t Let Auntie Mabel Bless the Table published by Blue Apple Books retails for $16.99.
– That’s IT Mommy Friend, Jill
* We did not receive monetary compensation for this review. That’s IT Mommy received the books mentioned in this post from PR free of charge to facilitate this review. This will in no way sway our opinion of the product or service. The review is in our own words and is our opinion. Your results and opinions may differ.
