ULTIMATE FOOD ATLAS: MAPS, GAMES, RECIPES, AND MORE FOR HOURS OF DELICIOUS FUN, by Nancy Castaldo and Christy Mihaly, National Geographic Kids, June 14, 2022, Paperback, $12.99 (ages 8-12)
Discover how unique foods are grown, eaten, and celebrated by people all over the planet, get recipes for delicious dishes, and so much more!
Pull up a chair and dig into this world atlas full of food facts, information about crops and farming, easy-to-read maps, recipes, and games from around the world. On the menu: vegetables, grains, meats, dairy products, and foods harvested from the water.
Highlights include appetizing attractions, cool places to eat, and food festivals, and sustainable eating is promoted throughout. —Synopsis provided by National Geographic
As a book reviewer, I receive a lot of mail. Most of it I leave out in the open, but the minute Ultimate Food Atlas arrived, I had to hide it. Otherwise, my 8-year-old would have adopted it for her very own and it would have been like pulling teeth to get it back.
This atlas opens with a “how to” section and is then followed by chapters featuring continents, oceans, feeding the world, and backmatter. Each chapter contains subjects ranging from farming for foods and festivals and feasts to great grains and dairy delights. And each category is associated with a color and icon. Each spread features maps, graphics, full-color pictures and bite-sized facts. The very nature of this book encourages readers to flip through and read as little or as much as they want.
The one drawback to the Ultimate Food Atlas is actually the paper it’s printed on. Instead of the glossy, sort of slippery paper found in the other Nat Geo Kids Atlases we own, this one features a lighter-weight matte one that has a noticeable odor to it. That odor, probably from the print, is a bit strong. This isn’t the first time I’ve noticed this sort of fragrance in heavily printed book, and I expect it will dissipate with use.
Other than the smell, the Ultimate Food Atlas is exactly the sort of book I’d hand to any kid who is curious about the world. I anticipate my kid spending hours perusing the pages — just as soon as I hand it over!
Copyright © 2022 Cracking the Cover. Unless otherwise noted, all books — digital and physical — have been provided by publishers in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. All thoughts and opinions are those of the reviewer.
