THE TRAVELING TACO

A brightly colored exploration of the origins and evolution of popular foods, from ice cream to pasta and pizza to french fries.

Each two-page spread introduces a different item with a short rhyme before defining the food, explaining its origins and evolution, and offering a brief fact. Occasionally, the rhyming text feels forced, and some explanations can be confusing or contradictory. The author notes that a churro is “piped sweet dough that is fried in hot oil and then sprinkled with sugar” but then later says that the Chinese youtiao doughnut is “similar to a churro, but it’s not piped, covered in sugar or dunked in chocolate.” Readers may wonder what the similarities are. Still, kids fascinated by food will find plenty to interest them—for instance, a discussion of the Jewish roots of fish and chips or how the jerk chicken we know was born when Africans in Jamaica fleeing slavery opted to prepare their meat using the smokeless pit method to avoid being detected. The crisp, full-page illustrations elucidate the text; a map at the end charts the journeys of the various foods mentioned, though it’s slightly difficult to decipher due to the low-contrast background.

Fun facts for future foodies.