Melting Pots

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-This slight book about ``the different ways people celebrate with food'' contains five insubstantial stories from various cultures, each accompanied by an introduction. In one tale, three siblings prepare a meal of jambalaya and sweet potato bread with no adult supervision. The recipes that follow-for apple pie, dumplings, white bean soup, jambalaya, and fried plantains-are inconveniently printed with ingredients on one side of the page and directions on the reverse. Number of servings is not always indicated, and directions can be skimpy. The dumplings are laden with garlic (1/2 pound), and making the soup as indicated results in a very bland and very thick dish. Unappealing, full-page, shaded line drawings appear throughout.-Diane S. Marton, Arlington County Library, VA