Julia, Child

K-Gr 2—This is the story of a girl named Julia who falls in love with French food at a young age (any resemblance to the real Julia Child is purely coincidental). She and her friend Simca take some classes and do a lot of experimentation and decide to pursue a future of cooking together. Because life "was filled with far too many grown-ups who did not know how to have a marvelous time," they are determined to follow their passion and to maintain their childlike joie de vivre. To do so, they create recipes for "growing young," which require no hurrying, and delicate spices "so that worries would disappear and wonders would rise to the surface." Despite some setbacks and needed modifications for clueless adults, Julia and Simca perfect a cookbook called Mastering the Art of Childhood. Morstad's lovely gouache and ink artwork has just the right proportions of sophistication and whimsy to suit the subject matter and to offer epicurious picture-book consumers something to sink their teeth in to. Bon Appétit!.—Luann Toth, School Library Journal