Tomie dePaola's The Popcorn Book (40th Anniversary Edition)

by Tomie dePaola

Overview

Everyone loves popcorn! Newly updated with the latest research, a delicious 40th anniversary edition of a POP-ular classic.

Tony likes to cook. Tiny likes to read. And both twins like to eat . . . POPCORN!

So while Tiny cooks it, Tony reads about it: what popcorn is, how it's stored and prepared, legends and stories about it, and its history in Europe and North America.

A favorite since its original release in 1978, The Popcorn Book has sold nearly a million copies. This fresh new edition features refreshed interiors with bolder colors, and revised text— updated with new information and vetted for accuracy by a Native American expert.

Colorful, funny, and informative, this nonfiction classic from the best-selling author-illustrator of Quiet, Strega Nona, and many more will teach you everything you need to know about this favorite snack food— and leave you hungry for more. And because the best thing about popcorn is eating it, two great recipes for popping corn are included!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823439850
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	10/16/2018
Edition description:	Anniversar
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	475,192
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	790L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Tomie dePaola is the beloved Caldecott Honor- and Newbery Honor-winning author and/or illustrator of close to 250 books, including Strega Nona and Quiet. Tomie was born in Connecticut and grew up there with his parents, brother, and two sisters. He loved reading and books from an early age and knew, when he was four, that he wanted to write and illustrate stories when he grew up. Tomie is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award from the American Library Association for his "substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children," the Smithson Medal from the Smithsonian Institution, the Regina Medal from the Catholic Library Association, and the Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota for his "singular attainment in children's literature." He was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in illustration and has received the New Hampshire's Governor's Arts Award of Living Treasure.

Hometown:

Connecticut and New Hampshire

Date of Birth:

September 15, 1935

Place of Birth:

Meriden, CT

Website:

http://www.tomie.com/main.html

Editorial Reviews

2018-08-14

Curious, shaggy-haired twins Tony and Tiny learn about the history of popcorn while waiting for a pot of kernels to pop.

First published in 1978, this 40th-anniversary edition updates the depictions of Indigenous people and expands upon the presentation of historical facts as Tony gets a pan hot and ready for popcorn while Tiny tells his brother (and readers) about the history of the food. This version is cleaner and brighter, with more saturated colors and modern type. The European (French, Spanish, and English) colonizers' perspective of popcorn history is de-emphasized, and more agency is given to Indigenous peoples. This version does a good job of including more Native Nation-specific facts about popcorn and its preparation, with lines such as, "The Ho-Chunk, also known as the Winnebago, were particularly fond of oiled popcorn on the cob." That being said, even though Tony and Tiny, two white boys, live in the present, all references to Indigenous peoples are in the past; this was a missed opportunity to include present-day Indigenous peoples' relationships to corn/popcorn. Also, the original stereotypical illustration of a brown-skinned, angry "little demon" inside a kernel is woefully present in this version, although the text has been edited to say "little man"; rather than the original "The Indian people had a legend," the text now reads "Some people tell the story," which implies that the origins of this "legend" are hazy.

Readers familiar with this book will delight in a fresher-looking version, but overall and despite good intentions, it does not completely rehabilitate the original's flawed depictions of Indigenous peoples. (sources, resources) (Informational picture book. 5-12)

Kirkus Reviews

"First published in 1978, this 40th anniversary edition updates the depictions of Indigenous people and expands upon the presentation of historical facts . . . cleaner and brighter, with more saturated colors and modern type . . . This version does a good job of including more Native Nation-specific facts about popcorn and its preparation . . . Readers familiar with this book will delight in a fresher-looking version"—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher