From Booklist
Gr. 3-6. This first entry in the A Taste Of series introduces the cuisine of Italy. Ridgwell begins with a description of how farming and climate have affected people's diets. She then goes on to discuss individual foods and menus. Crisp color photographs and a clean design make the book especially inviting. Although there are recipes at the book's conclusion, they seem rather unappealing for the age group (bean and tuna fish salad, risotto with sausage). Hence, this will probably be used more for school assignments than for cooking. A glossary and a brief bibliography are appended. Ilene Cooper
From Kirkus Reviews
In the Food Around the World series, a survey of typical foods and eating habits, touching on important food crops and manufacturing, popular dishes, and the history of staples like tomatoes and pasta, but not on imports or exports. Frequent, clearly reproduced color photos--sometimes several on a spread- -are well chosen to give a sense of landscapes, markets, and particular dishes. There are lapses--a chart comparing US and Italian consumption of various foods is truncated, insufficiently explained, includes anomalous numbers, and contradicts another newly published book in the series: A Taste of Japan (ISBN: 1- 56847-097-5). The several recipes, filtered through the originating British publisher, give a fair idea of how dishes such as risotto, granita, or pizza are made, but are bland--there is a watery minestrone, and no garlic anywhere. Still, an inviting introduction to a popular cuisine. Glossary; six ``Books to read''; index. (Nonfiction. 8-12) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
