Lynn Kuntz, Jan Fleming and Mark A. Hicks (Illustrator): American Grub

Gibbs Smith (Paperback), ISBN: 1-58685-260-4

Kids from kindergarten to high school (and adults too!) will enjoy this tasteful, state-by-state, culinary road-trip. Whether prepared by fun-loving adults or a budding child chef of the recommended age (eight years and older), these recipes will provide dietary delight to one and all.

Lynn Kuntz’s and J Fleming’s American Grub gases up with a few pages of background on culinary culture, essential tips on how to approach the recipes, as well as a checklist on home cooking safety. After that, it’s neither a boring ride, nor your ordinary cookbook. American Grub offers background information on each state and recipe; essential nutritional information, preparation tips and fascinating facts for each and every state and recipe.

The savory, handpicked selections prove fun and flavorful. A short list provides an idea of the recipes’ variety:

Georgia’s “Peaches Sunny-side Up” (arranged to look like eggs!)
California’s “Chinatown Dragon Cakes” (in Chinese culture, dragons mean luck and adorn both objects and food)
Arizona’s “Powwow Bread” (Navajo Fry Bread)
“Mississippi Mud Pie” (a chocolate mudslide!)

Recipes include stately appetizers, beverages, desserts, meats, pastas, salads, seafood, snacks, soups — 50 in all! Mark A. Hicks’ colorful illustrations bring character, charisma and comedy to this pantry party.

If you’re a teacher, history buff, patriot, parent, information-craving kid, aspiring chef or just plain hungry, take a national tour with Kuntz and Fleming’s American Grub. You’ll not only enjoy the ride and the food, but you’ll learn a little more about the fabulous places you visit.

Lynne Remick Pisano

Lynne Marie Pisano is a freelance writer, poet, book reviewer, SCBWI Metro New York LI Critique Group Coordinator and Co-Chair of the Long Island Children’s Writers and Illustrators. She lives in New York with her husband Michael, her son Kevin and a daughter named Kayla, and Dante, a Schipperke.