We All Scream for Ice Cream!: The Scoop on America's Favorite Dessert [Paperback]

Lee Wardlaw (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

We eat it in cups or cones. We drink it in sodas or shakes. We like it slathered in hot fudge sauce, wallowing in whipped cream, or balancing atop a slice of pie. We love it all year round.

Ice cream was once so rare and expensive that it was considered the dessert of kings. So, how did this treat for the elite become America's favorite sweet?

• When did people begin eating ice cream in cones?

• What mysterious woman invented the ice cream freezer?

• What is the story behind the Eskimo Pie?

• Who is the ice cream man with the million-dollar tastebuds?

This flavorful history of everyone's favorite dessert begins in ancient Greece and travels all the way to ice-cream loving, modern-day America. From fun-loving inventors to far-out flavors, you'll discover hundreds of frosty facts--plus how to make your own ice cream, cones, and fudge sauce!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-In this comprehensive book, Wardlaw details the history of this frozen dessert from ancient times to the present, with lively quotes and anecdotes. Readers learn that at first, only royalty could have ice cream, sending slaves to run to ice-covered mountaintops for the fixings; about Marco Polo's questionable contribution to the dessert's history; and about the introduction of the treat to America. Substantial text is given to the various innovations, inventors, and manufacturers covering how they came up with things such as ice-cream freezers, cones, Eskimo pies, and Good Humor deliveries. This book covers more than Vicki Cobb's The Scoop on Ice Cream (Little, Brown, 1985; o.p.) and could easily be used for reports. Recipes for cones, fudge sauce, and, of course, ice cream are included. The format makes for easy reading, with humorous sidebars and fun poems or quotes introducing each short chapter. Black-and-white photographs, reproductions, and occasional line drawings illustrate the volume.
Debbie Whitbeck, West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Lee Wardlaw is the award-winning author of 20 books for young readers, including Bubblemania: The Chewy History of Bubble Gum and 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents. She lives in Santa Barbara, CA.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: HarperTrophy (May 31, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380802503
• ISBN-13: 978-0380802500
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #597,617 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #61 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > History & Historical Fiction > United States > Other
  • #81 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Sports & Activities > Cooking

More About the Author

101 Ways to Bug Children's Book Author Lee Wardlaw:

#1. Ask her how many children's books she writes a day

#2. Ask her when she'll grow up and write 'real' books (meaning books for grown-ups)

#3. Tell her you'd write children's books too - if you had time.

Lee Wardlaw makes time: She's the author of numerous books for young readers, including the award-winning novels 101 Ways to Bug Your Teacher and 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents.

But where does Lee get the ideas for so many books?

"From my own life," Lee says. "Corey's Fire is based on my family's experiences after our house and neighborhood were destroyed in a California wildfire. Dinosaur Pizza was inspired by my childhood love of bologna/mustard/potato-chip sandwiches. I wrote the folk tale picture book Punia and the King of Sharks because I admire Hawaii's rich history of hula storytelling. And my years of experience as a daughter, student, parent and classroom teacher gave me loads of creative material for my 'Bugging' series!"

Lee grew up in Santa Barbara, CA, where she attended Cold Spring Elementary, Santa Barbara Junior High and Santa Barbara High school. She graduated with honors from Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, with a degree in education, and taught elementary school for five years before deciding to write full-time. Lee has 30+ years experience presenting lively and interactive writing programs in grades K through 8th. Since 1988, Lee has also taught a variety of workshops and classes for educators, librarians, parents and aspiring writers. For several years, she was the 'Ask the Children's Book Author' columnist for Inklings, an online magazine.

Lee's books have been honored by the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, Children's Book Council, National Council of the Social Studies, National Council of Teachers of English, Bank Street College of Education, the International School Librarians Association, and more. She has also won 7 state reader's choice awards. Lee is an active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, and belongs to the Author's Guild, California Reading Association, Children's Literature Council of Southern California and, yes, even the Cat Writers' Association. Upcoming releases include: Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku (Holt, 2010), 101 Ways to Bug Your Friends & Enemies (Dial, 2011) and Red, White & Boom! (Holt, 2011).

Lee is currently enrolled in Loyola College of Maryland and the Montessori Institute of San Diego, working on her master's degree in Education. She lives in Santa Barbara, CA, with her husband, teenage son, and three (ornery) cats.

To learn more about Lee, her books & workshops, and 98 other ways to bug her, visit her website at www.leewardlaw.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ten Reasons to Scream for Ice Cream, September 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: We All Scream for Ice Cream!: The Scoop on America's Favorite Dessert (Paperback)

Lee Wardlaw, the fun food expert who also wrote BUBBLEMANIA: THE CHEWY HISTORY OF BUBBLE GUM, has topped that smackin' good read with one about the number-1-greatest-dessert-on-earth...ice cream. You might ask me why I would read about ice cream when I could just eat ice cream, and I would say you have a pretty good question. But I have ten great answers. (By the way, I could think of 101 reasons why you should read this book, but Lee Wardlaw already wrote 101 WAYS TO BUG YOUR PARENTS, and I don't want to bug her!)

TEN REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD READ ABOUT ICE CREAM WHEN YOU COULD BE EATING IT:

1. If there is ever an earthquake large enough to destroy all of the ice cream companies on earth, you will have this book and be able to start your own company and save the world.

2. This book has GREAT ideas about the best possible careers. Name one job better than inventing ice cream flavors.

3. The next time your moms tells you not to stir up your ice cream, you can tell her with authority that ice cream is better that way. The man with the million dollar taste buds says so.

4. When you go out with friends, you can win the game of naming the weirdest flavors of ice cream. How about tuna fish ice cream?

5. Feel like royalty. Ice cream was once so rare that only kings and queens could afford it.

6. When your teacher starts going on and on about the father of our country, you can point out that there was somebody much more important: Jacob Fussell, the father of the American ice cream industry.

7. Improve your self-esteem. Did you know that it was a kid who first got the idea for an ice cream Sundae? Talk about an important invention.

8. This book will give you reasons to LOVE math and science. Ice cream couldn't happen without them. Your grades are guaranteed to go up a whole mark after reading this book. We'll start with an easy one: If you have a gallon of cookies'n'cream ice cream and four hungry kids, how much fudge sauce will your mom have to buy?

9. There's a whole chapter of recipes! Make your own ice cream! No freezer? Make it in a plastic sandwich bag!

10. I saved the best for last. You don't have to read about ice cream instead of eating it. You can do both at the same time. Just don't get the book sticky. Your mom and dad will want to read it, too!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We All Scream for Ice Cream, June 16, 2000

By 

Steve Wilson (Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: We All Scream for Ice Cream!: The Scoop on America's Favorite Dessert (Paperback)

With this book, Lee Wardlaw has completed the great triumvirate of ice cream books. First there was Chocolate, Strawberry and Vanilla by Anne Cooper Funderburg, giving us the first really accurate, complete, and very readable history of ice cream published in the twentieth century. And then there was Frozen Desserts by Caroline Liddell and Robin Weir, the best and most complete recipe book on ice cream written in the twentieth century. All that was lacking in the Ice Screamer's library was a good, readable, accurate book for children, and now, after having patiently waited until the new millenium and thanks to Lee Wardlaw, noted children's author, we have that book. The library is complete, God is on his throne, all is right with the world, and the only emperor is the emperor of ice cream. So what makes this book so good? Where to start.....well, just take a look at the cover. You cannot resist picking up this book, and then, well, then you've had it. First, there is the readability. I started the book and didn't stop until it was finished. Like I usually do with a good bowl of homemade ice cream, I devoured it too fast. So I had to read it again...same thing, couldn't put it down. Immediately apparent in Lee's style in all her books, and it is evident here as well, is that she doesn't talk "down" to children. The language is direct and simple wihout being patronizing; the style "speaks" to the reader casually yet matter-of-factly, which of course means that adults flock to her books as eagerly as children do. Then there are the delightful illustrations by Sandra Forrest. My personal favorite is the soda jerk on page 76. And besides these illustrations, each chapter begins with a great black and white photo of a classic ice cream scene, many are historic and rare. The book is complete. Chapters on the history of ice cream, the story of certain ice cream treats, and recipes are of course to be expected and these are complete, concise and accurate. When fact tends to blur with fancy, Lee tells us so. When myth runs smack into history, Lee tells us so. But her facts are impeccable; accurate and concise. It is a very, very well researched book, yet so fun to read, every page turns with a smile or a chuckle. And then, like the surprise bit of crunch in butter brickle, there are the sidebars, adding tantalizing factoids and anecdotes just to make us salivate for more. Mmmmm....Good! But the real charm to me is in the "extra" chapters. I didn't expect to see a chapter on soda fountains and soda jerks, but here it is! I didn't expect to see a chapter on cones and cone manufacturers, but surprise!, here it is! The story behind some well known ice cream companies? Here it is! And just as a good topping makes a great sundae, take a look at the the chapter called The Man With the Million Dollar Taste Buds. I've met this wild and crazy guy, and if anyone could do justice to him, Lee Wardlaw has done so. To be perfectly honest, I've known for nearly two years that this book would be published this year, and I've been eagerly awaiting its release with great anticipation. I am happy to say that this book far exceeds all my greatest expectations. Are there any faults to this book? Well, yes, there are; ...two, in fact. First, I find that just like a bowl of my favorite ice cream, it's finished before I am satisfied. But this is the same problem I have with any good book on ice cream; I just want it to go on, and on, and on, never really having to close the final cover. And second, it seems to be classified as a children's book, and I suspect when it hits the bookshelves this summer, we'll find it in the children's section, but don't let it fool you. It is actually advertised as "Ages 8 and up"; especially notice the "and up"... that means it's for children of all ages. One of the uniquely endearing qualities of ice cream is that with every bite, it continually reminds us that inside we have always been, and will always be... children. The obvious conclusion is that this book is for anyone who loves ice cream. So the question begs to be asked: Who in the world could possibly not enjoy it? I can't imagine.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sweet Taste of History, May 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: We All Scream for Ice Cream!: The Scoop on America's Favorite Dessert (Paperback)

I was astonished to discover how many interesting and amazing facts Lee Wardlaw came up with in her history of ice cream. This carefully researched book is written with style and humor -- just like all her books. It's full of amusing stories and reads almost like a novel. Kids will love telling their friends what they've learned about this delicious subject. An excellent book for kids -- and their parents too.