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Butterbeer and candy frogs? Horehound candy and Johnny-cakes? Children’s lit is full of sumptuous descriptions of eatables, including some out-of-this-world food orgies. Today Meagan and her sister Kathreen (brand-new to the show!) recall some of the most memorable smorgasbords and dishes from their favorite childhood books and discuss why food plays such an important part in the way kids engage with literature…and remember it later.
Some of the sites and books discussed in today’s episode:
- Beyond Little House, a resource for Laura Ingalls Wilder fans.
- Pioneer Girl, Wilder’s official autobiography
- The Little House Cookbook
And, because we forgot to discuss Wilbur’s slop trough contents from Charlotte’s Web – one of the best food descriptions ever! – here’s a Garth Williams illustration of Templeton enjoying his share.
Anna says
I had the best time listening to this episode! So many great food moments from some of my favorites! The egg cream in Harriet the Spy especially! I got so so excited when I saw it in the menu board of our local ice cream place as a kid and I ordered it. There’s no egg.. It’s seltzer water, milk, and chocolate syrup. Kinda disappointing but I really wanted to like it because I wanted to be Harriet so badly.
So fun you guys. Loved this. I hope my kids have this shared book culture like you two obviously do!!
Meagan says
Anna, I’m thrilled that you liked this episode. We had a lot of fun recording it and will definitely be doing more together in the future 🙂
Mrs N says
Enjoyed the show although the first food I thought of while listening to your intro was turkish delight from the Narnia series.
Some thoughts – I think fat pork could be pork belly, which can be wobbly (but in a delicious, unctuous way) and the maple syrup snow candy makes me think of shaved ice, Taiwanese style.
Finally, the Canvas platform just finished a MOOC on Laura Ingalls Wilder by the editor of Pioneer Girl. Her bio of Laura Ingalls Wilder as a writer is a fascinating read!