Dairy Products

Children's Literature

This entry in the "Healthy Me" series begins with a whimper and goes downhill from there. The first line, "Some cows are brown." leaves much to be desired as an opening and one wonders when cows moved from protein to dairy. Only several lines later are dairy cows distinguished as a group. The word dairy is not defined, though the author uses it to refer to cows, milk processing plants and food products. A brief discussion of the nutritional needs provided by dairy products and the types of food made from milk make the bulk of the book's content, which is limited. The book is of an interesting size, with rather nice photographs, but the content is confusing and not well organized. A recipe for making butter, a brief glossary (finally, the definition of dairy) and an index are included. 2004, Smart Apple Media, Ages 4 to 8.
— Sharon Oliver