Extreme Cuisine

From “Stir-Fried Silkworms” (eaten in Suzhou, China) to “Dragonflies on a Stick” (eaten on Bali), the nine dishes in each of these titles will be unfamiliar to most children. Each one is covered on a spread, with descriptions opposite glossy, somewhat garish color photos. The texts are written in a conversational tone (Seafood describes how “When pulled out of the River Thames in London, long snake-shaped eels hardly look like dinner”). Readers will discover some intriguing facts, e.g., cheese maggots, eaten on Sardinia, should be consumed while wearing eye protection because the wiggling creatures can jump up to six inches. A map at the end of each book shows where the foods are eaten. Most are in Asian or African countries, although the U.S. is represented by waxworm salad (eaten at the annual “BugFest” in Raleigh, NC), cricket lick-its (lollipops with crickets inside), and a few other concoctions. While these titles are long on child appeal, they suffer from a somewhat superficial approach, as the “whys” (sociological, historical, geographical, etc.) behind the dishes are absent. But where patrons enjoy grossing each other out, consider these books.