Bon Appétit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child by Jessie Hartland. Schwartz & Wade, 2012
Format: Picture book
Rating: 4
Genre: Biography
What did you like about the book? This biography of Julia Child captures her eccentric spirit and vitality; the illustrations are quirky and amusing, using a delicious palette; the generous sprinkling of French terms and phrases (with translation) lends authenticity.
What didn’t you like about the book? Each page is filled to bursting with graphic novel style illustrations and hand printed text and text bubbles, as well as French and English labels and comments from characters in the scenery. It feels overly busy at times and hard to focus on the message. The book is too short to qualify as a “report” book, so it would be an additional resource for a student.
To whom would you recommend this book? Middle school or teen readers interested in cooking.
Who should buy this book? Middle school and public libraries.
Where would you shelve it and why? Biography or Young Adult
Should we (librarians) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? Not, the top, but somewhere in the pile. It is a fun quick look at this delightful personality.
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City: Stephanie Tournas, Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, MA.
Date of review: June 2, 2012
