Weird Stuff You Didn't Know About Food (Everything But The Kitchen Sink) (Paperback)

~ E Macleod (Author), F Wishinsky (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Did you know that radishes are a common breakfast food in Japan? Why do Americans love corn dogs? Do watermelons remove freckles? Can you really clean a toilet with a can of cola? Where does the expression "say cheese" come from? Did you know that in 1919 a molasses flood killed 21 people in Boston?

What child isn't going to want to know the answers to these questions? Step into any school cafeteria and you'll hear kids buzzing about food. Everything but the Kitchen Sink builds on that fascination with food through history, science, art, superstitions, and world records.

Organized in 10 fast-paced and fun chapters, Everything but the Kitchen Sink will present bite-size facts, interviews with fantastic "foodies," and amazing but true sidebars. Some recipes and activities are also included.

Sample outline:

1. Hey, Dad, what's for breakfast! The first meal of the day across North America and around the world

2. Coo-coo, corn dogs, and mudbugs: Food through the ages: Why we eat what we eat

3. Why don't vampires like garlic? Outrageous food superstitions

4. Say cheese and grunt: Crazy food names and expressions

5. Snack attack! Everything you ever wanted to know about pizza, pop, cookies, and more

6. There's a lab in my kitchen: The science of food

7. Stuffed camel and other delicious holiday food: Festive foods and customs in North America and other continents

8. Biggest, longest, tallest, stinkiest: Food records that will amaze you

9. Who thought of that: Incredible food inventions

10. Everything but the kitchen sink: More fabulous food trivia

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Reference (March 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545003989
• ISBN-13: 978-0545003988
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #818,928 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Food Trivia, Kids have a million questions, it's nice while we're cooking, to have a few answers, November 10, 2008

By	Delaney (WI) - See all my reviews

The books reading level is for a 9 to 12 year old. I have a 7 year old and he reads one fact at a time.

The book is filled with cartoon pictures and factoids about food. Were you wondering who invented the pizza? Perhaps you were wondering about the largest chocolate bar? Or were you wondering what ancient cultures ate? These are the sorts of questions this book can help you get answers for.

There are a few "recipes"/experiments. Fun things to do with food. Making omeletes in a plastic bag for one.

We recently got ours but we have been reading it at breakfast and dinner. We plan to leave it in the kitchen, so the next time my son and I are cooking and he asks me about eggs or eating frogs I can whip out this book and we can giggle over some silly facts.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kid Tested and Approved - a review of "Everything and the Kitchen Sink", October 21, 2008

By	Pam Tee "Harmless" - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

We had a Scholastic Book Fair at our elementary school and my daughter's 3rd Grade teacher had this book on her "Wish List". To make a long story short, we purchased it for her, took it home, and now we have to buy our own copy because my daughter loves it.

The book has 10 Chapters with lots of cartoon drawings and info balloons to break up the text. I would think it would appeal to children that like trivia and/or weird facts. The Accelerated Reading level (ATOS) is 6.0 which means that your average Entering 6th Grader should be able to read the book without becoming frustrated by the vocabulary.

The Interest Level of 4th to 7th Grade is suggested, but apparently some 3rd Graders (and adults) find this book intriguing as well.

:::This quick review from Pam T~
reviewer for BooksForKids-Reviews.com

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun book for all ages!, October 25, 2009

By	Christine Haack - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book just because I thought it sounded interesting, and it is! It's a book for kids, so it's really easy to read, but there are some really interesting facts in there that you never knew. It's also one that you can just pick up and read a page at a time, and you don't have to read it all in order to have it make sense.