French food

Luring in les petits gourmands with brightly colored macarons, this book in the Cooking School series is a simple introduction to French cuisine. The first two chapters offer the French-food philosophy: fancy and delicious, s'il vous plaît. Next comes a mini tour of France's regions, giving readers a look at seafood stew in the north, escargot in Paris, fondue from the Alps, and ratatouille in the south. Each brief description is paired with crisp foodie photographs that will set mouths watering. Young chefs can try their hands at the included recipes, though adult supervision is needed. A glossary, resource list, and index conclude. Several opportunities are missed for vocabulary building: bread, but no baguette or croissant? Similarly, pronunciation for most French words is missing. For a country famous for its rich food, this book is somewhat light fare.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2015 Booklist

Gr 1-3-These unusually beautiful books spotlighting food cultures around the world let the youngest cooks try their hand at making favorites such as quesadillas, egg rolls, and French toast (with adult supervision). Faced with colorful pictures of tiny bowls of couscous decorated with nuts and spices and focaccia with cherry tomatoes and capers, readers will be encouraged to broaden their culinary horizons. The books include some general content about each cuisine before moving on to a few recipes. The dishes sometimes rely on ingredients like spaghetti sauce from a jar or chicken broth, but the majority use fresh vegetables and other ingredients. Occasional slip-ups ("Cooking has been an important part of the Chinese culture for hundreds of years" will make readers wonder what the Chinese were eating for the previous several thousand years) somewhat diminish the authority of the text, but it is tough to argue with such an attractive presentation of a useful subject. VERDICT Strong additions to cooking collections. © Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.