Pizza, Pickles, and Apple Pie - by David Rickert (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Comic-format stories explore the origins and histories of popular American foods from pizza to apple pie, with activities guiding readers in creating their own food history stories and art"--

Book Synopsis

How did a pizza become a pizza? Is a pickle really a cucumber in disguise? Explore fascinating food history, nutrition, and American culture through this middle-grade graphic-format nonfiction book for kids that answers oft-asked questions about the foods we love, explaining how they came to be.

Whether it's pizza and pickles or sushi and salad, there's a story behind all of our favorite foods. From breakfast to dinner, this book explores popular foods from our history, and explains their origins. Young readers will travel back in time--sometimes thousands of years--to cultures all over the globe to learn how and why foods were discovered. They'll also meet key people from food history along the way, including the inventor of breakfast cereal and the creator of salad dressing. The science behind unhealthy foods is also explored in this fascinating book, which includes projects and activities for both the classroom and home.

Review Quotes

2024 Kansas NEA Reading Circle List

"A broader perspective for readers who think no further than cupboards and fridges when asked where their food comes from....tasty." --Kirkus Reviews

"PIZZA, PICKLES, AND APPLE PIE is a breezy, brief, illustrated history of many of today's popular foods. Told in comic format, this engrossing piece of nonfiction for middle graders... (is) the sort of fun, catch-your-eye, nonfiction book that a kid can pick up, thumb through, and read a section. (The book) will readily lend itself to multicultural food discussions, related classroom cooking projects, and food-sharing activities. Young readers will enjoy the cartoonish digital illustrations featuring tons of food, multicultural characters, and a cartoonish Thomas Jefferson chowing down on his beloved waffles. Try it! It's good for you!" --Richie Partington, Richie's Picks

"This history of food favorites is both informative and entertaining. Over the course of a few pages per food kids learn how certain foods were developed and evolved over the decades (or centuries)...Wonderful, detailed graphic novel style illustrations show the amazing varieties of food both throughout history and around the world." --Youth Services Book Review

About the Author

David Rickert is an educator as well as an author and illustrator of comics. After receiving his teaching degree from Ohio State University, David had an itch to create comics for education. Working with the Teachers Pay Teachers marketplace, teachers around the world have embraced his comics as an effective way to teach English to young readers.