Passport on a Plate: A Round-the-World Cookbook for Children [Hardcover]

Diane Simone Vezza (Author), Susan Greenstein (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997 | Age Level: 9 and up

A social studies, geography, and world history lesson, all rolled into one delicious package! Here's a cookbook that offers easy-to-follow recipes, while teaching youngsters about food customs from around the globe--Africa, China, Russia, Mexico, Vietnam, the Middle East, and many more.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's never too early to learn about cooking or other cultures. In Passport on a Plate, children can do both at the same time. This wonderful collection of more than 100 recipes takes kids around the world without ever leaving the kitchen, and results in great food they're more likely to eat because they've made it themselves. Start in Africa with African Fruit Salad, Black-eyed Pea Balls, or Kenyan Crunchy Bananas. Move on to the Caribbean with Callaloo Soup, Curried Coconut Vegetable, and Island Fruit Smoothies, or venture all the way to Russia for Chicken Kiev, Apple-Cinnamon Baba, and Strawberries Romanoff. Each recipe is carefully rated from one to four "utensils" for level of difficulty and the amount of adult supervision required. In addition to the recipes, each section begins with a short cultural lesson about the highlighted country or region and the kinds of food found there. Passport on a Plate is an ideal cookbook for children and parents to learn from together.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8. This international cookbook contains 100 recipes from Africa, the Caribbean, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Middle East, Russia, and Vietnam. Each place is introduced in a one-and-a-half-page explanation of the area's foods and eating habits. The recipes are rated at four levels of difficulty, and each one is put into context with an introductory sentence or two. They are clearly written and carefully chosen to represent the locale and the foods that are grown there; however, it is sometimes necessary to vary ingredients for American cooks, and sometimes prepared foods are used to simplify the recipe. Some of the "four utensils" directions are difficult indeed, involving frying in deep fat, whipping cream, dealing with fillo dough, filling seaweed for sushi, etc. Nevertheless, the dishes are good and are more or less authentic. For more thorough information about the food and cooking of individual countries, see the "Easy Menu" series (Lerner). The Kids' Around the World Cookbook (Kingfisher, 1994) by Deri Robins is easier. Passport is a good addition to a popular subject.?Carolyn Jenks, First Parish Unitarian Church, Portland, ME
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; 1st edition (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689801556
• ISBN-13: 978-0689801556
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,198,271 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and great for families!, October 3, 2006

By 

Hedera Femme (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Passport on a Plate: A Round-the-World Cookbook for Children (Hardcover)

I Loved this book. The layout and content was exciting and fun, and I really wanted to make many of these recipes. The countries/areas/continents covered are as follows: Africa, Caribbean, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Middle East, Russia, and Vietnam. The recipes vary in complexity with a guide for parents on how difficult and dangerous they were, and how much help kids might require. While some of the recipes were not exactly authentic (fortune cookies, after all, are neither Chinese, nor are they consumed there at all), but most were different enough to get a curious palette interested, but not so foreign as to alienate the slightly pickier eater.

Each region gets its own mini-table of contents, separating the dishes by course (appetizers, salads, soups; main courses; desserts...) Each region also opens with a section about the cultures, tastes, available food resources, etc.; the writing therein is fun and simple, and I thoroughly enjoyed each aspect of this recipe book. I highly recommend this one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Yum!, August 20, 2011

By 

Sherry Elmer "Farm Girl" (HILBERT, WI, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Passport on a Plate: A Round-the-World Cookbook for Children (Hardcover)

This book is excellent in many ways. I love the concept, the format, and the recipes chosen. The only reason I did not give this book stars is there are no photos. Considering that we are "traveling" around the world through this book, I would like my son to be able to see a snapshot or two of some of the featured locals, such as Russia, Japan, China, India, the Caribbean. I am also a big fan of pictures of recipes. Other than the lack of photos, this is an excellent book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for teachers, August 21, 2008

By 

Linda Slager "Feathers" (South Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Passport on a Plate: A Round-the-World Cookbook for Children (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book for teachers who want to teach about different foods from different regions of the world. Easy to follow direction. Recipes that range from easy for younger children to a little more complicated for older kids & adults. So stay at home or in your classroom and enjoy worldwide 'Cuisine!