There has been the most amazing conversation happening at the YALSA general discussion listserv about two of my favorite things – FOOD and BOOKS. Someone asked for ideas about books with food themes so that teens could come to book club and actually cook the meals made in the books. I love these and really wanted to share. It’s a fun idea for any age.
(The post that started the conversation) We are going to try changing our teen book club to a cooking/book club for the summer. Each time they meet they will cook a recipe related to the book (i.e. Chicken Enchiladas and Twilight). We are having a hard time coming up with some book/food choices. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Below are the some of the ideas that were shared – names and libraries excluded:
It might be fun to read one of the survival type books (i.e. How I Live Know, Life as We Knew it, Hunger Games, Hatchet) and make a meal out of some of the types of foods the characters lived on.
You could read The Fold by An Na and make bibimbap (spelling varies) as Joyce does.
Soul Enchilada by Gill
Nothing to Lose by Flinn (some kind of carnival food)
Cupid: A tale of love and desire by Lester (ambrosia)
The first thing that came to mind was actually the Percy Jackson series and for food you could make Ambrosia. I also thought of /13 Little Blue Envelopes/ and making food relevant to the countries she visits. Also, /Al Capone Does My Shirts /and lemon cake.
What about cooking a diner-style breakfast to go along with “The Fortunes of Indigo Skye.”
Maybe you could make something that you think the character would probably eat, based on everything else in the story or the location, even if it is never explicitly stated. A story taking place in Philadelphia could = Philly cheese steaks, for instance.
For younger teens, you could do Project Mulberry and have them eat KimChi.
Another good one that combines growing up and food is Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer.
My Library Ideas 