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Tasty: A History of Yummy Experiments
How did cheese happen? Who pickled the first pickle? Explore the history of innovative food in this non-fiction graphic novel filled with facts, legends, and recipes.
Have you ever wondered how some of our favorite foods came to be? How was cheese created and who realized it belonged on everything? Was soda always meant to be a drink? A team of whimsical food sprites are excited to show you the yummy history of food expirements from all over the world!
Learn about the true stories behind pickles! Get a recipe for how to make your favorite pizza! With a story and recipe for every chapter, this graphic novel will give you something to read and taste.
Have you ever wondered how some of our favorite foods came to be? How was cheese created and who realized it belonged on everything? Was soda always meant to be a drink? A team of whimsical food sprites are excited to show you the yummy history of food expirements from all over the world!
Learn about the true stories behind pickles! Get a recipe for how to make your favorite pizza! With a story and recipe for every chapter, this graphic novel will give you something to read and taste.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published December 5, 2023
41 people are currently reading
817 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
July 10, 2024
this was so cute and like weirdly super super well done and just packed with information. a delightful read, the gelatin chapter was my FAVORITE
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December 7, 2025very cute! but i think the added narrative layer about the sprites interpersonal dyanmics was a bit of a hat-on-a-hat situation.
July 25, 2023
Tasty is a non-fiction graphic novel filled with information about food history. The characters telling the story are little sprites with expansive knowledge about cheese, pickles, sodas, and more!
The storytelling was very fun and I love the idea of a non-fiction graphic novel. I think this is a great way for kids (and adults) to learn fun facts about the origins of the foods they love, and how they found their way to our culture today.
The cartoons are adorable and the pages are nicely balanced with dialogue, text, drawings, and recipes.
The storytelling was very fun and I love the idea of a non-fiction graphic novel. I think this is a great way for kids (and adults) to learn fun facts about the origins of the foods they love, and how they found their way to our culture today.
The cartoons are adorable and the pages are nicely balanced with dialogue, text, drawings, and recipes.
January 16, 2024
I love this concept and hope VGE does more of these books! Yummy was also excellent and we're excited to make gooey butter cake this weekend!
November 22, 2025
A fun introduction to a lot of kids' favorite foods. Loved the graphic novel approach so kids are more likely to read it. Great Bibliography, but should include a Table of Contents as well.
November 20, 2024
Read this for the graphic novel book club at work, and it cute! I actually learned things about the history of food, and I'm excited to see what the 4th-8th graders think.
January 11, 2024
(3.5 / 5)
This history of certain foods told by “food sprites” in a colorful graphic novel is a fun, unique book for kids. It may work better for the age group it’s intended for than it did for me, not that I didn’t enjoy it overall. However, I had hoped for a little more of the science promised at the beginning of the book, especially at certain points when a statement is made that leaves me wanting to know more (like how does the wheel shape help cheese stay dry and avoid spoiling?). It makes sense that this wouldn’t be a comprehensive look at the foods chosen to be included—cheese, pickles, gelatin, etc., but some of the information goes by so fast, it’s hard to absorb it all.
Outside of the history told, there’s (sort of) a story going on with the sprites, but it’s really confusing to me. The main sprite, Peri, seems to have some kind of rivalry with a water sprite that pops in to talk about liquids sometimes, but why? I have no idea. I guess the author felt that giving the sprites a little of their own story would make it more engaging to kids, but I paid little attention to their little asides, other than the bizarre contention between Peri and Maia, which stuck out quite a bit. And there’s a place in the pickles section where the characters cry, “THE SAUCE” like a battle cry, like something we’re supposed to “get”…but I don’t. Maybe some of this connects back to the pervious book by this author, Yummy: A History of Desserts, but not having read that one, I can’t say for sure. While I do think that kids who are interested in food or cooking would probably enjoy this graphic novel, I don’t know that I’d recommend it for adults, unless they’re really into food history. Though in that case, they probably already know all of, or more than, what this book provides.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children’s Books for providing me a copy of this book to review.
This history of certain foods told by “food sprites” in a colorful graphic novel is a fun, unique book for kids. It may work better for the age group it’s intended for than it did for me, not that I didn’t enjoy it overall. However, I had hoped for a little more of the science promised at the beginning of the book, especially at certain points when a statement is made that leaves me wanting to know more (like how does the wheel shape help cheese stay dry and avoid spoiling?). It makes sense that this wouldn’t be a comprehensive look at the foods chosen to be included—cheese, pickles, gelatin, etc., but some of the information goes by so fast, it’s hard to absorb it all.
Outside of the history told, there’s (sort of) a story going on with the sprites, but it’s really confusing to me. The main sprite, Peri, seems to have some kind of rivalry with a water sprite that pops in to talk about liquids sometimes, but why? I have no idea. I guess the author felt that giving the sprites a little of their own story would make it more engaging to kids, but I paid little attention to their little asides, other than the bizarre contention between Peri and Maia, which stuck out quite a bit. And there’s a place in the pickles section where the characters cry, “THE SAUCE” like a battle cry, like something we’re supposed to “get”…but I don’t. Maybe some of this connects back to the pervious book by this author, Yummy: A History of Desserts, but not having read that one, I can’t say for sure. While I do think that kids who are interested in food or cooking would probably enjoy this graphic novel, I don’t know that I’d recommend it for adults, unless they’re really into food history. Though in that case, they probably already know all of, or more than, what this book provides.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children’s Books for providing me a copy of this book to review.
February 5, 2024
Very detailed, entertaining, and cute. The first segment went on a bit too long but overall I enjoyed hearing all the snippets of food history.
April 11, 2024
3.5
It is quite possible that I enjoyed this title more than I enjoyed Yummy. I thought that the section on Easy Foods was really interesting. Elliott's effort to contextual food in a cultural and historical context - not ignoring the impacts of war, enslavement, and colonialism - is effective, fascinating, and important.
Here's the thing about this book -and Yummy, too. They have awesome non-fiction material in them. They could be incredibly useful for a school project or just if someone had a specific food that they wanted to learn about. Their actual usefulness, however, is severely limited by the lack of a table of contents and an index.
I really love these books and wish that the time had been taken to make them as effective as tools as they are fun books to browse.
It is quite possible that I enjoyed this title more than I enjoyed Yummy. I thought that the section on Easy Foods was really interesting. Elliott's effort to contextual food in a cultural and historical context - not ignoring the impacts of war, enslavement, and colonialism - is effective, fascinating, and important.
Here's the thing about this book -and Yummy, too. They have awesome non-fiction material in them. They could be incredibly useful for a school project or just if someone had a specific food that they wanted to learn about. Their actual usefulness, however, is severely limited by the lack of a table of contents and an index.
I really love these books and wish that the time had been taken to make them as effective as tools as they are fun books to browse.
January 21, 2024
Food sprites Peri, Fee, and Fada are back (along with their new friend water sprite Naia) for Tasty: A History of Yummy Experiments. This middle grade nonfiction graphic novel (suited for readers of all ages) traces the history of cheese, pizza, pickles, soda, easy food (like canned soup and processed cheese), and gelatin.
The format for Tasty is the same as Yummy: the sprites introduce us to the story of a food through a combination of history lessons, scientific explanations (the mold in blue cheese is in the same family as penicillin!), interviews with historical figures, and recipes! There is a lot going on in every page, but Tasty is noticeably cleaner and easier to read than Yummy. The chapters on cheese and pickles are quite lengthy, as is to be expected for foods that have been around since before written history and have regional variations all over the world. I did feel my eyes glazing over a bit towards the end of the pickle chapter, as sauces were introduced. Many historical pickles were made to be a sauce, so ceviche, salsa, soy sauce, British chutney, and even our beloved ketchup all have those fruit and vinegar roots. This was my only complaint about the book itself, though. Until I made the Gooey Butter Cake recipe.
Gooey Butter Cake is from the easy food chapter. Originally a made from scratch bakery treat originating in St. Louis in the 1940s and 50s, boxed cake mix and cream cheese are supposed to make this version quick and easy. Just like in Yummy, we learn that at one point cake mixes were produced so all you needed to add was water. But home bakers felt this was too easy (and didn’t taste as good), so the product was changed to require eggs and other fresh ingredients. It was also around this time that magazines started promoting elaborate cake decorating, since people now had all this free time.
Let me start by saying the recipe produces a very tasty cake. This was the overwhelming opinion of me, my husband, and my co-workers. Comments included ‘very moist…Delicious! 5 stars’, ‘I love everything about this – the flavor and textures are perfect. I would eat this for breakfast or a sweet snack after lunch or dinner. I love the gooey butter top and crumbly cookie base.’ ‘Denser…than I was expecting, but I like the contrasting gooey and fluffy textures!’, ‘I really enjoyed this cake. I grew up eating chess pie for Thanksgiving/Christmas and I feel like this has the same flavor profile.’ ‘Overall, I personally feel like this is a decadent A+!’ A couple of reviews noted the hint of salt, which I noticed as well. This may have come from the cake mix or cream cheese, as I use unsalted butter. One reviewer did state that it wasn’t as gooey as they liked.
The issue was with preparing the cake. The recipe states to have your butter, cream cheese, and eggs at room temperature. Okay, done. To make the cake layer, you combine cake mix, one egg, and a stick of butter with a spatula. This was…a lot of work. Much more than a kid would be up for. By the time I reached my ‘done’ point, it still wasn’t a dough so much as a slightly damp cake mix with small chunks of butter. If I had been making the recipe on my own, I would have used my fingers or handheld mixer. I pressed it into the pan and hoped. Whisking the cream cheese by hand was also frustrating, but not nearly as bad. But whisking the butter into the icing was as bad if not worse than the cake mix. I may not have had lumps of powdered sugar, but I sure as heck had lumps of butter. Again, I poured it in and hoped for the best.
While the cake did turn out fine, I don’t think it’s a kid friendly recipe. The first three recipes that pop up in a Google search all have melted butter in the cake mix and none in the icing. These recipes would absolutely produce a yummy cake in about 10 minutes of prep time with minimal effort. I think the author may have eliminated the melted butter so kids wouldn’t have to use the stovetop, but I’m not sure why it was included in the icing? Regardless, this knocked a star off the book rating for me. As I stated before, the cake itself is delicious, but the recipe doesn’t quite fit the intended audience of the book.
I absolutely recommend Tasty if you’re looking to learn more about some of your favorite foods, but you may want to modify the recipes.
Cake: 4.75/5 (based on all opinions)
Book: 3/5 stars (based on my own opinion)
Full review (with recipe) can be found at: https://galesburglibrary.org/cooking-...
The format for Tasty is the same as Yummy: the sprites introduce us to the story of a food through a combination of history lessons, scientific explanations (the mold in blue cheese is in the same family as penicillin!), interviews with historical figures, and recipes! There is a lot going on in every page, but Tasty is noticeably cleaner and easier to read than Yummy. The chapters on cheese and pickles are quite lengthy, as is to be expected for foods that have been around since before written history and have regional variations all over the world. I did feel my eyes glazing over a bit towards the end of the pickle chapter, as sauces were introduced. Many historical pickles were made to be a sauce, so ceviche, salsa, soy sauce, British chutney, and even our beloved ketchup all have those fruit and vinegar roots. This was my only complaint about the book itself, though. Until I made the Gooey Butter Cake recipe.
Gooey Butter Cake is from the easy food chapter. Originally a made from scratch bakery treat originating in St. Louis in the 1940s and 50s, boxed cake mix and cream cheese are supposed to make this version quick and easy. Just like in Yummy, we learn that at one point cake mixes were produced so all you needed to add was water. But home bakers felt this was too easy (and didn’t taste as good), so the product was changed to require eggs and other fresh ingredients. It was also around this time that magazines started promoting elaborate cake decorating, since people now had all this free time.
Let me start by saying the recipe produces a very tasty cake. This was the overwhelming opinion of me, my husband, and my co-workers. Comments included ‘very moist…Delicious! 5 stars’, ‘I love everything about this – the flavor and textures are perfect. I would eat this for breakfast or a sweet snack after lunch or dinner. I love the gooey butter top and crumbly cookie base.’ ‘Denser…than I was expecting, but I like the contrasting gooey and fluffy textures!’, ‘I really enjoyed this cake. I grew up eating chess pie for Thanksgiving/Christmas and I feel like this has the same flavor profile.’ ‘Overall, I personally feel like this is a decadent A+!’ A couple of reviews noted the hint of salt, which I noticed as well. This may have come from the cake mix or cream cheese, as I use unsalted butter. One reviewer did state that it wasn’t as gooey as they liked.
The issue was with preparing the cake. The recipe states to have your butter, cream cheese, and eggs at room temperature. Okay, done. To make the cake layer, you combine cake mix, one egg, and a stick of butter with a spatula. This was…a lot of work. Much more than a kid would be up for. By the time I reached my ‘done’ point, it still wasn’t a dough so much as a slightly damp cake mix with small chunks of butter. If I had been making the recipe on my own, I would have used my fingers or handheld mixer. I pressed it into the pan and hoped. Whisking the cream cheese by hand was also frustrating, but not nearly as bad. But whisking the butter into the icing was as bad if not worse than the cake mix. I may not have had lumps of powdered sugar, but I sure as heck had lumps of butter. Again, I poured it in and hoped for the best.
While the cake did turn out fine, I don’t think it’s a kid friendly recipe. The first three recipes that pop up in a Google search all have melted butter in the cake mix and none in the icing. These recipes would absolutely produce a yummy cake in about 10 minutes of prep time with minimal effort. I think the author may have eliminated the melted butter so kids wouldn’t have to use the stovetop, but I’m not sure why it was included in the icing? Regardless, this knocked a star off the book rating for me. As I stated before, the cake itself is delicious, but the recipe doesn’t quite fit the intended audience of the book.
I absolutely recommend Tasty if you’re looking to learn more about some of your favorite foods, but you may want to modify the recipes.
Cake: 4.75/5 (based on all opinions)
Book: 3/5 stars (based on my own opinion)
Full review (with recipe) can be found at: https://galesburglibrary.org/cooking-...
January 19, 2024
For more bookish opinions, visit my blog: Craft-Cycle
A fun adventure into the world of food. Join a team of sprites as they dive into various dishes and ingredients including cheese, pizza, pickles, soda, easy food, and gelatin. They explore written history around the globe to learn about how items were created and how they have changed over time. Along the way are legends, imagined interviews with historic figures, and even recipes to try at home. Works as an engaging introduction to food history.
This was such a fun read. It packs in a lot of information in a fun and accessible format. Elliott doesn't shy away from some of the darker elements of history such as war, colonization, and slavery. Using kid-friendly language, she notes how they impacted the ways people experienced food.
As an adult reader, there were sections I wish were more fleshed out, but it gives a nice overview, which is appropriate for its target audience. A nice place to start to learn about the science, history, and evolution of food.
The artwork is bright and fun. It adds an engaging element to the book. I really enjoyed the different characters. There's even a guide at the back for how to draw Peri and design your own sprite.
There is also a bibliography with additional resources to learn more about specific topics.
Such a great idea for a graphic novel. Will definitely be checking out Elliott's Yummy: A History of Desserts as well.
A fun adventure into the world of food. Join a team of sprites as they dive into various dishes and ingredients including cheese, pizza, pickles, soda, easy food, and gelatin. They explore written history around the globe to learn about how items were created and how they have changed over time. Along the way are legends, imagined interviews with historic figures, and even recipes to try at home. Works as an engaging introduction to food history.
This was such a fun read. It packs in a lot of information in a fun and accessible format. Elliott doesn't shy away from some of the darker elements of history such as war, colonization, and slavery. Using kid-friendly language, she notes how they impacted the ways people experienced food.
As an adult reader, there were sections I wish were more fleshed out, but it gives a nice overview, which is appropriate for its target audience. A nice place to start to learn about the science, history, and evolution of food.
The artwork is bright and fun. It adds an engaging element to the book. I really enjoyed the different characters. There's even a guide at the back for how to draw Peri and design your own sprite.
There is also a bibliography with additional resources to learn more about specific topics.
Such a great idea for a graphic novel. Will definitely be checking out Elliott's Yummy: A History of Desserts as well.
June 10, 2023
Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC. I really wanted to love this book, as I’m particularly interested in food history. The book did a decent job of hitting major highlights but overall was superficial and failed to define many of the terms or foods they described. The author seemed to assume that the reader already knew what some items were. For example, she mentions miso under the sauces but doesn’t explain what it is. She talks about chutneys turning into ketchup, but she missed a huge amount of explanations about what they are. The little cartoon characters are fine, but they are forgettable, often saying unimportant things that seem disconnected and unrelated to the content of the book. I understand that this book is meant to be a simple overview, perhaps with the intention of sparking curiosity and further research? I’m not sure. The pictures are beautifully drawn and add to the understanding of the text, which was vital. Overall, it could have been an amazing book but perhaps overreached and tried to cover too many disjointed topics in one book leading to a superficial overview with more questions than answers.
March 8, 2025
**Book Review: *The Yummy History of Food Experiments***
Have you ever wondered how some of our favorite foods came to be? *The Yummy History of Food Experiments* is a delightful graphic novel that takes readers on a flavorful journey through the history of food. Guided by a team of whimsical food sprites, this book uncovers fascinating stories behind popular dishes from around the world.
From the origins of pickles to the surprising history of soda, each chapter explores a different culinary invention, blending history with humor and fun illustrations. But this book isn't just about reading—it’s about tasting too! Each chapter includes a recipe, so readers can recreate these historical foods at home. Want to try your hand at homemade pizza? This book has you covered!
Perfect for food lovers of all ages, *The Yummy History of Food Experiments* is both educational and entertaining. Whether you're curious about how cheese became a staple in so many dishes or just love learning about food in a fun way, this book serves up the perfect blend of storytelling and hands-on experience.
Have you ever wondered how some of our favorite foods came to be? *The Yummy History of Food Experiments* is a delightful graphic novel that takes readers on a flavorful journey through the history of food. Guided by a team of whimsical food sprites, this book uncovers fascinating stories behind popular dishes from around the world.
From the origins of pickles to the surprising history of soda, each chapter explores a different culinary invention, blending history with humor and fun illustrations. But this book isn't just about reading—it’s about tasting too! Each chapter includes a recipe, so readers can recreate these historical foods at home. Want to try your hand at homemade pizza? This book has you covered!
Perfect for food lovers of all ages, *The Yummy History of Food Experiments* is both educational and entertaining. Whether you're curious about how cheese became a staple in so many dishes or just love learning about food in a fun way, this book serves up the perfect blend of storytelling and hands-on experience.
August 14, 2023
E ARC provided by Netgalley
If you enjoyed Yummy: A History of Desserts (and if you haven't read it, I highly recommend you do!), you will love this look at other forms of food that started out as a little bit of a surprise. The main sections are cheese, pickles, gelatin, processed foods, and sodas, and each is a HUGELY deep dive into the subject! Each chapter starts out with a map of where products were developed, and it was interesting that not a lot of cheese was developed in North America. (Except, of course, Velveeta. Which does make an awfully good mac and cheese!) I loved the illustrations, and was impressed by the research that went into this; there's a nice bibliography at the end.
I could have done without the sprites, but my students seem to enjoy them. There are some recipes, and I'm definitely going to have to try to make Gooey Butter Cake. Definitely will purchase a copy of this since I am such a fan of food history, but personally like the format of Kim Mill Zachmans' There's No Ham in Hamburger better. My students always prefer a graphic format.
If you enjoyed Yummy: A History of Desserts (and if you haven't read it, I highly recommend you do!), you will love this look at other forms of food that started out as a little bit of a surprise. The main sections are cheese, pickles, gelatin, processed foods, and sodas, and each is a HUGELY deep dive into the subject! Each chapter starts out with a map of where products were developed, and it was interesting that not a lot of cheese was developed in North America. (Except, of course, Velveeta. Which does make an awfully good mac and cheese!) I loved the illustrations, and was impressed by the research that went into this; there's a nice bibliography at the end.
I could have done without the sprites, but my students seem to enjoy them. There are some recipes, and I'm definitely going to have to try to make Gooey Butter Cake. Definitely will purchase a copy of this since I am such a fan of food history, but personally like the format of Kim Mill Zachmans' There's No Ham in Hamburger better. My students always prefer a graphic format.
December 5, 2023
I love graphic novels focused on food and recipes and this one is amazing. It has so much detail explaining the history and origin of foods that are so famous like pizza, soda, cheese, pickles... Things we don't take a moment to realize they had their own journey since ancient history, including traveling, colonization... or even influence in other cultures. That's what I like most about this is knowing that food can be native to a region but also was crucial in evolving side by side with us.
The characters are food fairies and they are all lovely. The artwork is awesome and the pages are designed freely with images and notes instead of being constricted inside organized panels. I love it. Sometimes there are legends (stories about these foods or ingredients) that have some truth to them and other times full recipes.
Well researched and put together.
Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this eARC.
The characters are food fairies and they are all lovely. The artwork is awesome and the pages are designed freely with images and notes instead of being constricted inside organized panels. I love it. Sometimes there are legends (stories about these foods or ingredients) that have some truth to them and other times full recipes.
Well researched and put together.
Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this eARC.
May 1, 2024
The three food sprites from Yummy are back with more food history. With the help of a water sprite this time, they'll give us the history and development of cheese, pizza, pickles, soda, easy food (quick prep/ready mixes/canned), and gelatin.
This is a highly informative and creatively presented dive into food history. Though there are fantasy wrappings, I'm shelving this in nonfiction because it is loaded with food and history facts. Our Geography students do a unit on food and geography and this will be a useful source for them as well as an engaging pick for curious readers.
Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: None (preparing animal products for use in food is talked about but no butchering information or gory illustrations)
Ethnic diversity: The sprites have a variety of skin tones but no mentioned ethnicities.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified
Other: Crazy and sometimes gross foods are mentioned.
This is a highly informative and creatively presented dive into food history. Though there are fantasy wrappings, I'm shelving this in nonfiction because it is loaded with food and history facts. Our Geography students do a unit on food and geography and this will be a useful source for them as well as an engaging pick for curious readers.
Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: None (preparing animal products for use in food is talked about but no butchering information or gory illustrations)
Ethnic diversity: The sprites have a variety of skin tones but no mentioned ethnicities.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified
Other: Crazy and sometimes gross foods are mentioned.
September 4, 2023
For budding food enthusiasts, cooks, or kitchen scientists, this graphic novel did what the first one on desserts did-- made me hungry and appreciative of the research that goes into food history around the world. Using comparisons on the basics of a food to showcase how it was changed, adapted, and eaten across the world and for that reason, it's comprehensive for a younger audience. If they wanted more, they can conduct more research and reading themselves.
In this tasty history-- Elliott uses her sprites to talk about cheese, gelatin, "easy" food, pizza, pickle, and soda. And it's broken up into the history with a possible interview of a famous person, a recipe, and some basic information. It's fun and lighthearted while also teaching readers serious food history that kids could find recognizable and also inquire more about (gelatins, for instance. Wild!)
In this tasty history-- Elliott uses her sprites to talk about cheese, gelatin, "easy" food, pizza, pickle, and soda. And it's broken up into the history with a possible interview of a famous person, a recipe, and some basic information. It's fun and lighthearted while also teaching readers serious food history that kids could find recognizable and also inquire more about (gelatins, for instance. Wild!)
April 20, 2023
I was given an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
From how cheese is made to the history of quick foods like Spam and Jell-o, this non-fiction graphic novel is bursting with fun facts about food!
I LOVED this book! It was chalk full of history surrounding many favorite foods and I can honestly say that I learned quite a few things. Added to that they threw in science lessons, mock interviews with famous people, and RECIPES! Kids love to cook! While I am not normally a super-fan of graphic novels, I think this was a perfect platform for bringing non-fiction to kids. It was very educational and would keep their attention with the 4 little pixies that were willing to joke not only about the food (aspic anyone?) but about themselves.
From how cheese is made to the history of quick foods like Spam and Jell-o, this non-fiction graphic novel is bursting with fun facts about food!
I LOVED this book! It was chalk full of history surrounding many favorite foods and I can honestly say that I learned quite a few things. Added to that they threw in science lessons, mock interviews with famous people, and RECIPES! Kids love to cook! While I am not normally a super-fan of graphic novels, I think this was a perfect platform for bringing non-fiction to kids. It was very educational and would keep their attention with the 4 little pixies that were willing to joke not only about the food (aspic anyone?) but about themselves.
May 4, 2023
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley.
I loved this book. I picked it up because I had heard about Yummy: A History of Desserts and the sequel (?) does not disappoint.
Points I enjoy:
- The balance between science, history and character interaction
- The attention to various parts of the world (though some of the chapters are more global than others.)
- The build up to some of the facts - it makes learning about these things seem exciting. Which it is. I mean. Cheese.
- All of the cheese
As a children's librarian, I'd recommend this for your graphic novel collection for most libraries and for classroom libraries of teachers of grades 3 and up. Cute food nonfiction won't appeal to everyone, of course, but I think that it could find a lot of love.
I loved this book. I picked it up because I had heard about Yummy: A History of Desserts and the sequel (?) does not disappoint.
Points I enjoy:
- The balance between science, history and character interaction
- The attention to various parts of the world (though some of the chapters are more global than others.)
- The build up to some of the facts - it makes learning about these things seem exciting. Which it is. I mean. Cheese.
- All of the cheese
As a children's librarian, I'd recommend this for your graphic novel collection for most libraries and for classroom libraries of teachers of grades 3 and up. Cute food nonfiction won't appeal to everyone, of course, but I think that it could find a lot of love.
December 5, 2023
If you love food, and learning about its origins then this might be the book for you! Told in the form of a graphic novel with adorable and funny characters, you are taking a journey and learning about the origins and history of some of our favorite foods. Some of those include pickles, cheese and soda! I loved that the author even included fun recipes after each section. If you or someone you know struggles to read nonfiction (I definitely do) but you still want to learn the history behind food, then I think snagging a copy of this graphic novel would be a wonderful idea. Perfect for kids and adults alike, you won't be disappointed! I will definitely watch out for more from this author, especially if they do more with this concept and the characters. You should pick this one up!
January 21, 2024
Tasty is a fast-paced, fact-filled tour of the history of a variety of popular foods. A trio of food loving sprites covers the origins of cheese, pickles, gelatin, sodas, and processed foods and in many instances shows how those foods changed or adapted as they were impacted by people’s needs or circumstances or were introduced into other cultures. Information includes both a historical perspective and a look into the science behind the development of these well-known culinary items. Each section concludes with a recipe. With fun illustrations, engaging facts, and an accessible approach to non-fiction, readers who enjoyed Yummy will devour this sequel.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC to read and review.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC to read and review.
July 2, 2024
3 stars (I liked it)
It was interesting to learn about the history of some different foods (ex: cheese, pickles, gelatin, etc.).
As with the first book Yummy: A History of Desserts, the information is given through characters (food sprites). Sometimes there are recipes and "interviews" and other different ways to provide information. There is a subplot here around two the of sprites that aren't really friends but become friends (I think. I honestly didn't pay too much attention to them).
It was interesting to learn about the history of some different foods (ex: cheese, pickles, gelatin, etc.).
As with the first book Yummy: A History of Desserts, the information is given through characters (food sprites). Sometimes there are recipes and "interviews" and other different ways to provide information. There is a subplot here around two the of sprites that aren't really friends but become friends (I think. I honestly didn't pay too much attention to them).
October 4, 2024
In this "history of yummy experiments" readers are introduced to the history of a variety of foods including gelatins, cheeses, soda and convenience foods. Told in graphic novel format, the information is easy to assimilate and engaging. While it provides an introduction to the topic, I found myself wanting more information. For instance, in the chapter on cheeses, there wasn't much discussion on how each cheese was different from another or how they tasted. It was worse in the pickle chapter since I am totally unfamiliar with a lot of the dishes discussed. Overall, the book was interesting and I learned some fun trivia.
May 16, 2024
I love learning facts and learning things about the topic of this book which is where different foods that everyone is familiar with came from and how they came to be. The information is a little bit disjointed in how it’s presented because it’s a graphic novel and I Ben feel like could’ve been told better as just a picture book. The Story is told by a bunch of sprites all have different roles and one is not liked by another one? But later in the book is like by everyone? Sort of confusing and doesn’t add to the story of explaining how foods came about in anyway.
May 20, 2024
This is a really clever unique graphic novel that focuses on information about how certain foods came to be a part of the culinary world. Four female characters lead the reader/viewer through a food journey that focuses on cheese, pizza, pickles, soda, convenience foods, and gelatin integrating interviews with chefs, recipes and other information. The book ends with a bibliography of resources for further exploration. There are also some directions on how to graphic characters. It is just a very clever presentation of interesting information related to foods.
October 6, 2025
Very detailed middle grade graphic novel that goes through the history of many popular food items. Includes fun recipes to try too!
I thought it was fascinating, and even though there are cute little food sprites teaching you, I think it was a bit too dense for my kids to really appreciate. I did find the cheese chapter felt too long (then again, I am lactose intolerant...). Would be best for slightly older kids (and adults) - maybe middle school and higher. Or as something to open up now and then like a reference book rather than reading straight through.
I thought it was fascinating, and even though there are cute little food sprites teaching you, I think it was a bit too dense for my kids to really appreciate. I did find the cheese chapter felt too long (then again, I am lactose intolerant...). Would be best for slightly older kids (and adults) - maybe middle school and higher. Or as something to open up now and then like a reference book rather than reading straight through.
April 29, 2023
Kids love graphic novels and this one will be no exception. This book follows 3 food sprites who teacher the reader about some of the worlds favorite foods. The sprites teach the reader about the legends behind foods, interview historical figures and gives you recipes to try on your own.
This book is humorous and educational. The illustrations are bright and cheery. The panel layout is easy to follow.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children for the advance copy for review.
This book is humorous and educational. The illustrations are bright and cheery. The panel layout is easy to follow.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children for the advance copy for review.
May 11, 2023
Tasty explores food history with the help of sprites. This was a fun, educational read which explored some food favorites like cheese, pickles, pizza, gelatin, soda, and easy foods, like canned soup, mac and cheese and spam. The history of how different foods were changed and affected by the people around them and what they were going through was really interesting! Our library has Yummy (which I also enjoyed), and will definitely be purchasing this one too!
June 18, 2023
Yummy scientific experiments- like where pizza came from and how cheese is made?! Out of this world graphic illustrations!! This graphic novel is full of amazingly tasty food facts and spectacularly adorable illustrations.
I would recommend this book for any food lover in 4th grade or older.
Grateful to have received a digital copy of this book from Random House Children's, Random House Graphic.
I would recommend this book for any food lover in 4th grade or older.
Grateful to have received a digital copy of this book from Random House Children's, Random House Graphic.
December 20, 2023
A fun graphic novel about food history. This one focuses on food that can also be considered inventions: gelatin, cheese, easy to prepare food products, etc. It's very informative, even with the brisk pace that's necessary to cover, say, all of pickling in about 50 pages. It also reads easily. I'm a ambivalent about the pixies that are the narrators, but they're at least not disruptive. Definitely aimed at a younger audience, but I think a lot of adult readers will have fun with this, too.
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