THIS IS THE WAY WE EAT OUR LUNCH
A Book About Children Around the World
by Edith Baer & illustrated by Steve Bjorkman
In a companion to This Is the Way We Go to School (1990), Baer and Bjîrkman tour 22 different locales (identified this time around, with half of them in North America) to show readers, in rhymed couplets and watercolor illustrations, what kids are having for lunch. The topic is not particularly well served by this format: The verse rarely ascends above the level of doggerel (``Max and Millie, willy-nilly,/have their pretzels Ö la Philly''), and the cartoons provide no useful sense of the appearance of possibly unfamiliar foods (fried plantains, hummus, couscous). Back matter includes a world map of the featured places, a glossary, and a plea to help end world hunger. (Picture book. 4-7)