Learning | Bon Appétit!

Hey, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, caregivers of children! Summer Reading began on June 1. You probably have heard that this year's theme is "Reading is So Delicious." Many of us are thinking about our favorite food-themed books. One recent favorite of mine is a children's picture book with the Bullwinkle Effect--ostensibly, the targeted audience is children, but I think adults will enjoy reading this book with children.

Bon Appétit: the delicious life of Julia Child by Jessie Hartland was published in 2012. It's a biography of an amazing woman.  She never quite fit into the roles one might have expected for her. She made her own career as the person who introduced French cooking techniques to the American culture through her cooking show. I remember my mother watching that show every week.  

Bon Appetit does not follow the typical narrative form of a biography; there are multiple illustrations on every page, with captions that range from humorous and informative to downright wise.  This format makes it especially suited to snuggling up with your child, reading together, and discussing what you see.

You may also want to watch the DVD Julie & Julia, or read the book that inspired the movie. We even have the e-book version; just click on the link in the title of the DVD to see the formats the library offers.  Julie & Julia is based on the true story of a journalist whose blog was based on the premise of learning to cook 524 Julia Child recipes in 365 days.  

What are your favorite books about chefs?

Learning | Bonus Letter Z?

Sometimes people who normally write material for adults produce some of the best children's books.  Take New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast, for instance. She collaborated with author/comedian/entertainer Steve Martin on The Alphabet from A to Y with bonus letter Z! 

This book is a fine example of the Bullwinkle Effect mentioned in my Hey, Moose! Where is Crocodile? post. This is classified as a children's picture book. Kids will enjoy it, but their parents will enjoy it just as much, if not more. 

There are things mentioned here that very small children won't necessarily understand until they are older, but they'll chuckle when they learn what they mean, because they'll remember some silly phrase from this book.


As one expects from a typical alphabet book, there's plenty of alliteration in the rhyming couplets for each letter. 

As one would expect from Steve Martin and Roz Chast, there's an abundance of silliness, too.

(Honestly, I wonder how they got this thing done. They must have had to take a lot of breaks to laugh, and then collect their composure.  I know Chast did all of the illustrations, but which jokes were Martin's? And who thought of dropping the usual "A to Z" progression, in favor of "A to Y" with "bonus letter Z?" I would love to have been a fly on the wall during their meetings.)

I like Chast's New Yorker cartoons because they are subtle.  They don't rely on just one gag; there's enough to keep the viewer going back to look at a piece again and again.  

Can you think of other examples of the Bullwinkle Effect?  What are your favorite silly alphabet books?