Comics Are For Everybody: food

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Bake Sale by Sara Varon

Cupcake runs his own bakery and plays drums in a band with his friends, but lately he's been feeling like he's stuck in a rut. When his friend Eggplant invites him along on a trip to Turkey, Cupcake is motivated to work extra hard to earn the money for a plane ticket. His extra work interferes with band practice, though, and he is replaced by an avocado. Then Eggplant loses his job and can't go on the trip. Cupcake has to decide what to do, and what will make him happiest. Several of Cupcake's recipes are included in the book. Readers who enjoy this book might enjoy Varon's other works with similar themes, such as Robot Dreams and Odd Duck.

Appeal: Food, cute, kids, working hard, friendship

Art: Bright and cheery, anthropomorphic

Text: Simple, conversational

Other: Bake Sale was recommended by the ALA in 2012 as part of any library's core collection of graphic novels.

Awards: Sara Varon won a Parent's Choice Silver Honor Award in 2006 for her work Chicken and Cat.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley

A memoir about the omnipresence of food in the author's life, from her earliest memories to her early adulthood. Knisley's parents worked as caterers, and she was raised in a variety of food-focused settings influenced by her father's gourmand tastes and her mother's back-to-the-earth lifestyle. The rich color enhances the humorous depictions of a life-long fascination with food. The story of Knisley's childhood vacation in Mexico with minimal parental supervision is particularly funny. Recipes illustrated as comics separate the chapters.

Appeal: Female narrator, mother-daughter relationships, food, cooking, memoir

Art: Bright, colorful, ligne claire

Text: Enthusiastic, conversational, descriptive, narrative

Other: Knisley was born in New York and graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has written another memoir, French Milk, about living in Paris with her mother.

Awards: Relish won an ALA/YALSA Alex Award in 2014. It had a starred review in Kirkus Reviews.

Knisley, Lucy. Relish: My Life In The Kitchen. New York : First Second, 2013. Print.