Review Detail

Sandor Katz and the Tiny Wild (Food Heroes, 4)

Kids Nonfiction 649

Science in a Pickle

October 11, 2022 (Updated: June 06, 2026)

Overall rating

3.7

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Learning Value

3.0

Pickles, sauerkraut, and kimchi-- all of these foods have a connection! Sandor Katz was enthralled with these taste of these fermented food from different cultures, and has made a career studying the microbes that lead to this fermentation. Moving from New York, where he was raised, to rural Tennessee, he set up a school for studying the process that creates these foods.

Good Points

The illustrations in the book have the same exuberant and funky style exhibited by Katz' approach to studying, and have a lot of fun elements. There are page borders of different types of cabbages, decorative text with phrases like kraut-chi-licious, and multicolored dots that represent the microbes involved in the fermentation process.

There are a number of interesting food books for young readers, like Stanley's Alice Katz Cooks Up a Food Revolution and The Sweetest Scoop: Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Revolution
by Lisa Robinson, and Sandor Katz and the Tiny Wild will appeal not only to readers who want information about food, but to teachers and parents who want to take a deeper look into the science of what we eat.

The book ends with a recipe for kraut-chi, a note from Katz, and notes from the author and illustrator, who add a lot more information about Katz's work. There is also a bibliography that includes Katz's books and further resources.