Review by Booklist Review
Similar to McCallum and Hernandez's Eat Your Math Homework (2011), this colorful book offers recipes for six dishes related to American history and uses them as focal points for information on particular topics: succotash (the Pilgrims' Thanksgiving); cherry-berry grunt (the 13 original American colonies); lost bread, or pain perdu (the French and Indian War); hoe cakes (slavery on Southern plantations); honey-jumble cookies (Boston in 1773); and ice cream (the Revolutionary War and George Washington). Sidebars bring up related topics and ask readers to consider questions such as which foods in the reader's refrigerator would not have been available to the Pilgrims. As in the earlier books, Hernandez contributes upbeat illustrations with dressed-rabbit characters. Modernizing the Thanksgiving Succotash with chunks of hot dogs seems counterproductive, and most kids young enough to enjoy the illustrations will need adult help to prepare the dishes, as McCallum advises in the Kitchen Tips section. Still, for parents, teachers, and students looking for hands-on experiences, here are some tasty ways for kids to connect with the history curriculum.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-The third time isn't the charm for the newest entry in this picture book series. The book attempts to make "quick bites" of early American history less "deadly dull" with the introduction of "modernized" recipes. "Quick bites" seems to refer to whitewashed, Eurocentric history, while "modernized" recipes indicate dishes that might have historians crying foul. The first two recipes strike an especially sour note. Thanksgiving serves up a succotash recipe that includes hot dogs, while the meal enlivening Colonial history is a fruit grunt or crumble (McCallum tenuously connects the dessert to the period by describing the colonists grunting and groaning through hard times) made with canned cherry pie filling. Adapting recipes to suit ingredient availability is understandable; however, the author neglects to suggest healthier and fresher ingredients that are more like those colonists would have eaten. The images of childlike bunnies vary widely in appearance. While some rabbits look silly or cute, others look sly or even slightly menacing. Illustrated parchment scrolls relaying additional historical information and providing questions for readers to ponder hold the one bright spot in this lackluster offering. Beyond the succotash and grunt, the rest of the recipes are inoffensive, and all of them feature clear instructions. VERDICT Not recommended.-Cindy Wall, Southington Library & Museum, CT © Copyright 2015. 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 Horn Book Review
In this themed cookbook, six sections address segments of colonial American history, from the arrival of the Pilgrims to independence from Britain; each includes an informative narrative, a related recipe adapted from that era (e.g., hoe cakes from Southern plantations), and a "Side Dish" text box with discussion questions. Mixed-media cartoons show toothy, goofy rabbits cooking and enjoying food. Timeline. Glos., ind. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
After encouraging kids to eat their math and science homework (2011 and 2014), McCallum and Hernandez this time pair six recipes to the history of America from 1620 to 1789. The historical highlights include the Mayflower, the Pilgrims, Plymouth, and the first Thanksgiving (Thanksgiving Succotash); life in the original 13 Colonies (Colonial Cherry-Berry Grunt); the French and Indian War (Lost Bread); slavery (Southern Plantation Hoe Cakes); the Boston Tea Party and the increasing enmity toward England (Revolutionary Honey-Jumble Cookies); and the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War (Independence Ice Cream). Each period is summarized in a single page of general background. The recipe follows on a double-page spread, and then a further double-page spread gives more (and more specific) information. An introduction includes a timeline of the entire period and some cooking tips ("Please ask an adult to assist you, especially when things are sharp or hot"), which include pointing out that the recipes have been modernized. The book ends with a brief review of each period, glossary, and index. The cutesy cartoon artwork visually represents some aspect(s) of the learning and goes nicely with some of the corny puns the author adds in. The recipes themselves include pretty basic ingredients, and the steps are easy to followprovided readers know what to do when it says to "beat," "whip," etc. Social studies teachers aren't likely to assign these for homework, but some could easily be made in class to finish off Colonial studies. (Nonfiction 7-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
