Review Detail

“The Traveling Taco: The Amazing and Surprising Journey of Many of Your Favorite Foods” by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Kimberlie Clinthorne-Wong, uses both rhymes and short, to the point paragraphs to shed light on a variety of foods, including where they came from and how they have changed over time.

One can learn that Italians have created over 1,300 shapes of pasta, but pasta is not unique to Italy. Chinese chefs hand pull pasta into long, skinny strings. Readers also learn about ceviche, made from raw fish, cheesecake and how it was first tried by ancient Olympians, a fruit-topped meringue cake called pavlova that was named after a dancer, french fries, fish and chips, ice cream, jerk chicken, rice pudding, churros, and pizza, which has a long and storied history with different styles in many different places. It can be ordered by the pie, by the slice, and can be deep dish, flat crust, or so much more.

There is a neat map at the end of the book showing the world. All of the places where these foods come from are labeled on the map. With so many interesting facts to learn about food, readers will find themselves either wanting to try new items, and/or being fascinated by the new details they learn about the items they already know and love.