CHILDREN'S BOOKS
I thought I'd focus this entry on one of my favorite categories: children's literature. Looking back on it, my all-time favorite children’s books
are the ones involving food: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (the caterpillar eats a TON and still emerges a beautiful butterfly), and Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola (I say yes to streets flooded with pasta).
Let's compare an American children's book that centers around food with a more contemporary British children's book, also centered around food and eating. I checked out of the library My Big Shouting Day! by Rebecca Patterson, mostly because the small and loud heroine of the story reminds me of myself as a young, stubborn child.
Not only do Strega Nona and My Big Shouting Day! portray shared, family meals, but arguably, both portray the individual experience of eating in a negative light. When the cook's helper in dePaola's book attempts to replicate Strega Nona's recipe alone, things go awry and he floods the whole village with spaghetti. In Patterson's story, when the small child is too focused on throwing her temper tantrums, she misses out on sharing happy meals with her family and friends.
A picture from My Big Shouting Day!, depicting that a picky child is an unhappy child
Anthony from Strega Nona hanging on for dear life after he attempts to make spaghetti by himself
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