A foodie’s delight, though with occasional half-baked morsels.
A food writer revels in the wonders of local markets worldwide.
“Be bold and be curious!” Originally published in Spanish, this enthusiastic, though occasionally awkwardly worded, celebration of markets and their wares (mostly the edible sort but with a few glances at other types of merchandise) invites readers to not only savor with all their senses the bounty of familiar types of fresh foods, but also to be open to new experiences—like dried Greenland shark (hákarl) from Reykjavík’s Kolaportið Market (which gives off a “terrifying stench” to the uninitiated) and fried spiders at the markets in Skuon, Cambodia (“crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside”). Though Sucarrats never mentions online or financial markets and refers only vaguely to markets organized by “Native Americans” (depicted generically sporting feathered headbands and rowing canoes) and Australian Aboriginal people, he expands tremendously on Ted Lewin’s classic Market! (1996) by specifically naming more than 40 active sites (all of which are located on a numbered map at the end). Also, along with crowing over distinctive products offered at many markets, he rightly highlights their double nature as both commercial and social centers whatever form they take. Sofroniou follows suit by blending glimpses of select actual locales with luscious spreads of different sorts of foodstuffs in roughly equal measure and populating indoor and outdoor scenes with a racially and culturally diverse mix of sellers, buyers, laborers, and browsers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A foodie’s delight, though with occasional half-baked morsels. (index) (Informational picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: March 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-63819-130-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Bushel & Peck Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
Go adventuring with a better guide.
Find something to do in every state in the U.S.A.!
This guide highlights a location of interest within each of the states, therefore excluding Washington, D.C., and the territories. Trivia about each location is scattered across crisply rendered landscapes that background each state’s double-page spread while diminutive, diverse characters populate the scenes. Befitting the title, one “adventure” is presented per state, such as shrimping in Louisiana’s bayous, snowshoeing in Connecticut, or celebrating the Fourth of July in Boston. While some are stereotypical gimmes (surfing in California), others have the virtue of novelty, at least for this audience, such as viewing the sandhill crane migration in Nebraska. Within this thematic unity, some details go astray, and readers may find themselves searching in vain for animals mentioned. The trivia is plentiful but may be misleading, vague, or incorrect. Information about the Native American peoples of the area is often included, but its brevity—especially regarding sacred locations—means readers are floundering without sufficient context. The same is true for many of the facts that relate directly to expansion and colonialism, such as the unexplained near extinction of bison. Describing the genealogical oral history of South Carolina’s Gullah community as “spin[ning] tales” is equally brusque and offensive. The book tries to do a lot, but it is more style than substance, which may leave readers bored, confused, slightly annoyed—or all three. (This book was reviewed digitally with 12.2-by-20.2-inch double-page spreads viewed at 80% of actual size.)
Go adventuring with a better guide. (tips on local adventuring, index) (Nonfiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7112-5445-9
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Important background for prospective voters.
An explanation of what general voting is for and why it is important.
In unusually (for the audience) frank if bare-bones fashion, deRubertis briefly chronicles the “long and bumpy” pursuit of universal suffrage in this country, from the first U.S. elections in which just 1 percent of the populace was qualified to vote at all up to the 30 percent turnout that resulted in 2016’s presidential debacle. Rightly observing that having a legal right to vote and being allowed to exercise it are two very different things, she charts the slow extension of the franchise to ethnic minorities and women (as well as a federal court’s retrograde 2000 exclusion of residents of Puerto Rico and other territories); names the first African-Americans, Native Americans, woman, and Chinese-American to be elected to the U.S. Senate; and surveys the civil rights protests that led to 1975’s expanded Voting Rights Act. Though she focuses largely on federal elections, state and local ones receive some attention. The Electoral College, voter-record security issues, and political parties go unmentioned, but the author does highlight low turnouts as a significant issue before closing with an eloquent summation of voting’s importance in a democratic society. Age, race, and gender diversity were plainly important considerations in choosing the generous selection of period portraits and scenes and recent stock photos, including the striking cover image of a smiling black woman at a podium.
Important background for prospective voters. (Nonfiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-63592-055-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kane Press
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
