Food Non-fiction Week!

Every year, one of the teachers does a nonfiction project, and by far the most popular topic is food. This would explain why I picked up Marilyn Powell's Ice Cream: The Delicious History.

Very fun book, although a little dry for middle school students. Using a variety of sources, Powell traces the history and impact of ice cream while adding her own personal experiences as well as recipes to the narrative. I enjoyed it, but wished that it had more pictures. There are a few, but they are random, and this could be much more appealing if it included pictures of 1950s ice cream parlors and soda jerks, which are described but would still be hard to visualize for younger students.

Also read Limb's Girl, Almost 15, Flirting for England. I hadn't like the first in the series, although I felt I should have. The new one has a great title, but I felt left out while reading the book-- I didn't quite follow the huge cast of characters, and things seemed like an inside joke. Fantastic cover, and I should have liked it. Of course, I am also in the process of taking titles that I did like OFF my lists to purchase because there won't be enough money for everything next year.

Lastly, a bit of news-- Rick Riordan's Battle of the Labyrinth is an "embargoed" title. This means that even if one got out to the dreaded mall area over the weekend, the book store can't sell you the book because then Hyperion can cease supplying them. Sigh. A bit silly, but there you are.