As a homeschooling mom, I am always looking for new materials to use in our home classroom. I am especially fond of the books available from National Geographic Kids, and I use many titles from the publisher in our curriculum. When recently offered the chance to review Food Fight!: A Mouthwatering History of Who Ate What and Why Through the Ages by Tanya Steel in exchange for my honest opinion, I eagerly accepted the opportunity to add a new history title to my home library.
Author
Currently residing in Connecticut and a mom of identical twin sons, author Tanya Steel is a global leader in the food, health, and wellness worlds. She initiated the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge & Kids’ “State Dinner” with former First Lady Michelle Obama, an annual event at the White House from 2012 to 2016. She was the former editorial director of Clean Plates, Epicurious.com, Gourmet Live, and Gourmet.com and an editor at Bon Appétit and Food & Wine. She wrote for the New York Times for four years. She co-wrote the award-winning Real Food for Healthy Kids and The Epicurious Cookbook, a New York Times best seller. Food Fight!: A Mouthwatering History of Who Ate What and Why Through the Ages is her third book.
Synopsis
Recommended for readers between the ages of 10 and 12 in fifth and sixth grade, Food Fight!: A Mouthwatering History of Who Ate What and Why Through the Ages brings young readers on a journey of human history from prehistoric times to modern day through food and the struggle to acquire enough throughout the ages. The book answers questions about the origins of common contemporary foods, yucky habits of yore, marvelous inventions that changed cooking and eating, and the weirdest menus on record. In addition to exploring the ways in which food shaped global history and culture, the book also includes thirty kid-tested and approved recipes. The 160-page hardback book with dust jacket currently costs $15.08 on Amazon with a list price of $19.99.
Evaluation
I love reading about history and especially enjoy reading about lesser explored history, so Food Fight!: A Mouthwatering History of Who Ate What and Why Through the Ages is right up my alley. My oldest daughter, who has been reading independently since she was a little over 4 years old, is currently halfway through second grade but often reads book at a more advanced level. She can pretty easily read this book on her own with just a little help here and there. The book contains fifteen chapters spanning human existence from the prehistoric era to the future world with times such as the Renaissance, the French Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution in between. Each chapter serves up a bite-size history of the time period as well as information about daily life, common foods and menus eaten, and mealtime customs and etiquette. I love that Tanya Steel presents human history by looking specifically at food, a common need shared by all people across time and space.
In addition to the plethora of historical information, Food Fight! features fabulous illustrations and photographs that bring the history to life. My oldest daughter enjoys looking at the pictures as she reads through the text, and my preschooler son loves flipping through the pages to look at all the colorful illustrations. He may not want to sit still for a full reading, but he likes asking me to explain the different foods on each page. Both my oldest kiddos are also extremely interested in trying some of the included recipes. Since I want to begin cooking lessons with my second grader, the book could not have come at a better time for our homeschool!
Final Verdict
If you are searching for a history book with a more specific focus, I definitely recommend checking out Food Fight!: A Mouthwatering History of Who Ate What and Why Through the Ages by award-winning celebrity food editor and author Tanya Steel. The book looks at human history from prehistoric times to modern day through food and the struggle to acquire enough throughout the ages. In addition to answering questions about the origins of common contemporary foods, yucky habits of yore, marvelous inventions that changed cooking and eating, and the weirdest menus on record, the full-color hardback book includes thirty kid-tested and approved recipes. Food Fight! is perfect for any kid interested in history and/or food.
Purchase Food Fight!: A Mouthwatering History of Who Ate What and Why Through the Ages on Amazon via my affiliate link.
Image Credits
‘Food Fight!: A Mouthwatering History of Who Ate What and Why Through the Ages’ Book Review © 2018 Heather Johnson
Cover of ‘Food Fight!: A Mouthwatering History of Who Ate What and Why Through the Ages’ © 2018 Heather Johnson
Inside Pages of ‘Food Fight!: A Mouthwatering History of Who Ate What and Why Through the Ages’ 1 © 2018 Heather Johnson
Inside Pages of ‘Food Fight!: A Mouthwatering History of Who Ate What and Why Through the Ages’ 2 © 2018 Heather Johnson
Inside Pages of ‘Food Fight!: A Mouthwatering History of Who Ate What and Why Through the Ages’ 3 © 2018 Heather Johnson
