Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This survey of foods that inter-national children eat for school lunch emphasizes differences while pointing to the interconnectivity of world ecology. Visually, the focus is on the food, which appears in vivid photographs (often on lunch trays), joined by large blocks of text broken up with modest cartoons of schoolchildren. In Nantes, France, lunch consists of salad, roast chicken or fish, vegetables, cheese, and fresh fruit or a tart; in Tokyo, it's sardines and rice. In Afghanistan, children eat "high-energy biscuits" provided by the World Food Programme. Curtis crafts a holistic conversation about health, poverty, and sustainability: the availability of free school lunch in Brazil has helped decrease child malnutrition by 73%, while processed foods in American school lunches ("Brand name food such as Domino's Pizza and KFC are sold at more than one-third of U.S. public schools") contribute to obesity in children. Ages 8-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-From an American cafeteria to a refugee camp in Kenya, there's a consistent format to almost every spread, which features a meal from a specific city: story/origin of the lunch on the left, color photograph on the right. These simple visuals, like the single scoop of lentils served on a sheet of notebook paper in Lucknow, India, speak volumes. Though not in-depth, the explanations and diagrammed facts surrounding the pictures can provide many points of discussion about cultural differences, poverty, nutrition, world hunger, and activism.-Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
"Organic," "sustainable" and "food miles" all appear in the comprehensive glossary of this book, whose simple title and cover photograph imply a basic approach to the international topic of food. This very political book, biased toward food equity, explains why certain foods are eaten in certain countries and why school lunches are important. They fill various needs, from the teaching of courtesy and table manners in France and Japan to the supply of basic nutrients for Somali children in refugee-camp schools. Efforts to improve children's eating habits, curb obesity, encourage use of local crops and provide food to students with limited economic resources are discussed. As the book is from Canada, naturally there are some references to that country in many of the comparisons. Though published in a seemingly picture-book format, the text is complex. Most two-page spreads describe school lunchtime in an individual country, with a cartoonish illustration on the left and a large photograph of a typical meal on the right with numbered arrows pointing to particular elements. Lengthy captions are keyed to each number. Small globe images in each spread point out countries, but larger maps and a bibliography would be useful. "The Message to Parents, Teachers and Students" provides project ideas. Adults may have to force-feed this purposive book to those not yet committed to the important causes outlined here. (Nonfiction. 9-12)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
