Community Corner
A Book to Help Kids Give Thanks
An enlightening look at what other families around the world eat when they gather around their table.
With Thanksgiving around the corner, a book about how the world eats felt particularly timely. It gives kids an incredible perspective of what food consumption is like, not only in other countries, but also for families with different resources. Your children will see their abundant table in a whole new light.
Please visit my website at www.onegreatbook.com for more inspired book choices for kids
Title:What the World Eats
Find out what's happening in Los Altosfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Author:Faith D’Aluisio and Peter Menzel
Target: Grades 4-8
Find out what's happening in Los Altosfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Series:No
What this book is about:
This book chronicles in photographs and text what families around the world eat in a typical week. It moves all around the globe from Chad to Australia, from France to Guatemala and from China to the US. The photographs of the families surrounded by their weekly food allowance is humbling and telling about the how they procure their food, how they choose what to eat and how they gage their economic prosperity.
Why I love this book:
My daughter cannot stop looking through all the pictures in this book. It is a wonderful jumping off point to talk about nutrition, food choices and the lives of these families in other countries.
When she sees what a family in a refuge camp in Chad has for a week in contrast to a family in the US, it is eye opening. She is also amazed at the amounts of fruits and vegetables in Guatemala where they harvest their own food in contrast to Greenland where fruits and vegetables are mostly canned and they have no fertile land. The amount of packaged food in industrialized nations is also shocking and the pictures provide a fascinating and straightforward way of communicating food choices with kids.
This book was introduced to my son by his fifth grade teacher several years ago. On a trip to Norway, the book was featured in the gift shop at the Nobel Peace Prize Museum and my kids spent almost a half hour going through it. I was afraid they were going to make us buy it or kick us out. (For the record I would have been happy to buy it there, but it is heavy and I didn’t know how to fit it in my suitcase!) So we got it when we returned home, and it has seen constant use ever since.
Who this book is for:
Great for most kids. The pictures will speak to younger kids and the charts on obesity, access to water, meat consumption, etc. will appeal to older kids.
Final thoughts:
I adore books that take kids out of their reality. This book does a beautiful job, without being preachy, of showing kids what life is really like for others who don’t share in the benefits that they do. This book is the kid’s version of the adult book, Hungry Planet.
I am a mom of three with a passion for literature! No matter what book series our kids devour, as they come to an end, we as parents ask the inevitable question - what is next? I am ever on the job, trying to answer that question. I try to do it with a variety of books. Some are silly, some true to life, some pure fantasy, but in the end I hope they make my children love words, explore new ideas, and laugh!
************************************
Previous columns From Freya Hooper:
A Book to Inspire Your Children.
A Book to Help Kids Give Thanks.
A Book That Makes Science Fun For Kids.
Mom And Blogger FREYA HOOPER On: A Book Your Kids Will Eat Up
FREYA HOOPER On: The Ultimate Battle Book for Kids
Freya Hooper: A Hauntingly Good Book for Kids