Popcorn
Elaine Landau, Brian Lies, E. LandauBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
Full-color illustrationsPull up a chair and dig in! Popcorn is chock-full of tidbits about one of America's favorite snack foods. Learn what makes popcorn pop, how Native Americans liked their popcorn, and how television almost wiped out popcorn's future. Cooking tips, recipes, and resources included.
Elaine Landau has written more than 200 books for young readers, including Osama Bin Laden (Twenty-first Century/Millbrook). She lives in Miami, Florida.
Brian Lies has illustrated several books for children including See the Yak Yak (Random House) and the Flatfoot Fox series (Houghton Mifflin). He lives in Duxbury, Massachusetts.
Synopsis
Full-color illustrations
Pull up a chair and dig in! Popcorn is chock-full of tidbits about one of America's favorite snack foods. Learn what makes popcorn pop, how Native Americans liked their popcorn, and how television almost wiped out popcorn's future. Cooking tips, recipes, and resources included.
Elaine Landau has written more than 200 books for young readers, including Osama Bin Laden (Twenty-first Century/Millbrook). She lives in Miami, Florida.
Brian Lies has illustrated several books for children including See the Yak Yak (Random House) and the Flatfoot Fox series (Houghton Mifflin). He lives in Duxbury, Massachusetts.
Kirkus Reviews
Not even Lies's (Hamlet and the Magnificent Sandcastle, not reviewed, etc.) realistically drawn figures-children, Pilgrims, and a recurring, mischievous raccoon-manage to add much substance to this jokey once-over. After explaining why popcorn pops, Landau, author of dozens of poorly researched nonfiction titles, sweeps past its history in the Americas-"Researchers have found 1000-year-old grains of popcorn. That's older than anyone you know-including your teacher." Ha ha. She casts doubt on the claim that it was served at the first Thanksgiving, then traces its modern career from curbside attraction to movie-house staple to household snack. After putting a positive spin on popcorn's nutritional value without caveats about adding oil, butter, or salt, she closes with a tally of suggested toppings ("Ranch or Italian salad dressing mix"-um, maybe not), a recipe for popcorn balls (but not popcorn soup, which gets only a quick, tantalizing mention earlier on), and skimpy lists of books and Web sites. Padded with weak wisecracks, superficial generalizations, and outright filler, this isn't about to displace Tomie DePaola's classic Popcorn Book (1978) as an introduction to one of the world's most popular recreational foods. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)