Eat Your U.S. History Homework: Recipes for Revolutionary Minds

Gr 2–4—The third time isn't the charm for the newest entry in this picture book series. The book attempts to make "quick bites" of early American history less "deadly dull" with the introduction of "modernized" recipes. "Quick bites" seems to refer to whitewashed, Eurocentric history, while "modernized" recipes indicate dishes that might have historians crying foul. The first two recipes strike an especially sour note. Thanksgiving serves up a succotash recipe that includes hot dogs, while the meal enlivening Colonial history is a fruit grunt or crumble (McCallum tenuously connects the dessert to the period by describing the colonists grunting and groaning through hard times) made with canned cherry pie filling. Adapting recipes to suit ingredient availability is understandable; however, the author neglects to suggest healthier and fresher ingredients that are more like those colonists would have eaten. The images of childlike bunnies vary widely in appearance. While some rabbits look silly or cute, others look sly or even slightly menacing. Illustrated parchment scrolls relaying additional historical information and providing questions for readers to ponder hold the one bright spot in this lackluster offering. Beyond the succotash and grunt, the rest of the recipes are inoffensive, and all of them feature clear instructions.