Nonna Tell Me a Story

Nonna Tell Me a Story: Lidia's Egg-citing Farm Adventure, Lidia Bastianich

Illustrated by Renée Graef

(Running Press Kids, 2014), hb., 60 pp.

Ages

Although I like to tell puns, I must admit, the title of this book made me skeptical about it. I was afraid poor humor would ruin it. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this light hearted story. The author draws from her childhood experiences in her grandparents’ courtyard in Istria (near Italy) to present a grandmother having a fun visit with her grandkids, taking them to a farm and helping them understand where we get our food. The author recognizes that many children today will never have seen live some of the animals we eat or realized where eggs come from.

I also really appreciated the strong, healthy family portrayed here as the grandmother loves and has fun with her grandkids. The story closes with the parents returning and all the family enjoying a nice meal together. This intergenerational picture is also very good.

The last almost half of the book contains recipes that tie back to the story in one way or another. This was a surprise to me and I would not have expected it to be of interest to my children. However, they loved it and we ended up reading through the recipes like we did the story. We may try some of the recipes soon, just for fun.