There's a Rat in My Soup: Could You Survive Medieval Food?

Ye Yucky Middle Ages

by Chana Stiefel, Gerald Kelley

Eat like a king! Sit down to a meal of eagle, peacock, green-dyed eggs, stuffed pig’s stomach, and blood gravy. Medieval royalty would eat giant feasts filled with strange and exotic dishes. So join in on the fun and find out what food was like during the Middle Ages in this reluctant reader book.

Genres: Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens, Humor

48 pages, Library Binding

First published July 1, 2011

About the author

Chana Stiefel is the author of more than 30 books for children, both fiction and nonfiction. Her recent picture book, THE TOWER OF LIFE: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs (illus. Susan Gal, Scholastic), received many honors including the 2023 Sydney Taylor Book Award, a Robert F. Sibert Honor, the Margaret Wise Brown Prize, the Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children's Literature & SCBWI's Inaugural Robert Freedman Nonfiction Award for a Better World. Her next book is LET'S FLY: Barrington Irving's Record-Breaking Flight Around the World (co-written with Barrington Irving, illus. by Shamar Knight-Justice, Dial/PRH, 1-14-25). Other recent nonfiction titles include LET LIBERTY RISE! How America's Schoolchildren Helped Save the Statue of Liberty, illustrated by Chuck Groenink (Scholastic), and ANIMAL ZOMBIES! AND OTHER BLOODSUCKING BEASTS, CREEPY CRITTERS, AND REAL-LIFE MONSTERS (NatGeoKids). Chana's humorous fiction picture books include BRAVO AVOCADO (HarperCollins), MENDEL'S HANUKKAH MESS UP (Kalaniot), DADDY DEPOT (Feiwel & Friends) & MY NAME IS WAKAWAKLOCH (HMH). Chana is represented by agent Miranda Paul at Erin Murphy Literary.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

I didn't want this book to end. I love the whole series!

I wish it had a couple real pictures in there, like pictures of actual medieval kitchens and utensils.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Is this the latest edition of some gross-out cooking show? Nope, it's a 1,000-year old recipe from the Middle Ages." [p. 14]

This was amazing. Fantastic illustrations.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

OPENING AND SYNOPSIS: “Turning a long metal skewer, the cook roasts a whole swan over a blazing fire. For gravy, he mixes the bird’s blood with its heart, liver, and guts. He stirs in pieces of bread and adds some broth. The swan’s skin and feathers are then stuck back onto its body to make it look alive. Dinner is served!”

Enjoy reading about mouth-watering “delicacies” like this roast swan, pottage (think gruel), blackbird-filled pies and more in this delightful romp through medieval cooking. In 48 pages, Stiefel covers royal food and feasts, as well as the peasants’ plight. She also looks at the constant threat of starvation that plagued the people of the Middle Ages.

WHY I LIKE THIS BOOK: This gross-out books is gobs of fun. Stiefel’s prose is delightfully descriptive. Her conversational and humorous voice truly put the “story” in this history. Yet, at the same time, it’s clear this is a well-researched text. Stiefel includes quotes from people who lived in the Middle Ages, as well as other tidbits, like the shopping list for a 6,000-person feast. Gerald Kelley’s lively illustrations are a perfect match for the text, keeping the book fun and engaging for young readers. You’ll find it hard to put down.

SOURCE: Publisher-provided copy

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Grades 3-5 (Amazon), Grades 5 – 9 (publisher); I think Amazon’s grade-level designation is more appropriate

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book about food in the middle ages. I finally learned the real story behind "Sing a Song of Six-Pence." When I was a little gal, I was told that live birds would be baked into pies - what everyone failed to mention to my impressionable little self, was that they didn't actually eat the birds. It was more of a practical joke. I can't tell you how many moments of horror I endured thinking of those medieval kings trying to eat fluttering birds.

[Jade Cropley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book with some trivia i did not know already.