Children's Book Reviews
Page Two of TwoGood Enough to Eat: A Kid's Guide to Food and Nutrition by Lizzy Rockwell
HarperCollins, February 1999.Picture Book, 31 pages.
Reading Level: Ages 5-9
ISBN: 0060274344.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
Lizzy Rockwell has created a first: a book created just
for children to teach them all about food, nutrition
and proper eating habits. With colorful and friendly
pictures, Rockwell covers all of the basic nutrient
groups: carbohydrates, protein, fat, water, vitamins
and minerals. She explains what each nutrient
group is good for, and where it can be found in common
foods. She describes how much and what type of food
children need each day, why we must drink water,
how the body digests food, and all about calories.
She also demonstrates the food pyramid, why
breakfast is so important, and why a diet of
candy-only is not a good idea. With easy to
understand language and colorful illustrations,
Rockwell takes the mystery out of this important subject.
With so many pre-teens and teens suffering from
eating disorders, it's never to early to teach
children the importance of good nutrition and
healthy attitudes about food. An excellent
reference work which parents will find
helpful in teaching children all about this
important subject.
Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born by Jamie Lee Curtis, Illustrated by Laura Cornell.
Joanna Cotler Books, October 1998.Picture Book with Audio Cassette Tape, 29 pages.
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
ISBN: 0060279540.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
A little girl asks her parents to, "Tell me again
about the night I was born." She then proceeds
to recount the tale herself, with the intro phrase
"Tell me about how..." The little girl, who is
adopted, like Curtis' own children, tells how the
sleeping parents got the telephone call that the
baby was born ("Tell me again how you screamed."),
how they rushed to the airport to fly to the hospital
("There was no movie, only peanuts."), how the parents
glared at anyone who sneezed near them on the
way home, and how tiny and perfect she was. The
full, two page layout of a lifesized infant is hilarious,
complete with cradle cap, banana head and perfect
pink toes. When they get home, dad proceeds to tell
her that "baseball [is] the perfect game, " and mommy
sang the lullaby her mother sang to her. The illustrations
by Laura Cornell are watercolors with wit and humor
(e.g., mommy is reading Thin thighs in 30 Days when she
get the call that the baby's been born). Also included
in this edition is an audio cassette tape of the story read
by Jamie Lee Curtis and two original songs from
composer/lyricist David Nichtern. This is a wonderful
story for adopted and natural born children, which can
be used to illustrate the bonds of family and the important
lesson that not all families are created the same way.
An excellent story by the multi-talented Ms. Curtis.
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