Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers And Eaters

By Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple

Book Overview

Fairy Tale Feasts is more than collection of stories and recipes. In it, Caldecott-winning author Jane Yolen and her daughter, Heidi Stemple, imagine their readers as co-conspirators. About the creation of the stories and the history of the foods they share fun facts and anecdotes designed to encourage future cooks and storytellers to make up their own versions of the classics. From the earliest days of stories, when hunters told of their exploits around the campfire while gnawing on a leg of beast, to the era of kings in castles listening to the storyteller at the royal dinner feast, to the time of TV dinners when whole families sit for dinner in front of a screen to watch a movie, stories and eating have been close companions. So it is not unusual that folk stories are often about food. Jack's milk cow traded for beans, Snow White given a poisoned apple, a pancake running away from those who would eat it, Hansel and Gretel lured by the gingerbread house and its candy windows and doors. But there is something more--stories and recipes are both changeable. A storyteller never tells the same story twice, because every audience needs a slightly different story, depending upon the season or the time of day, the restlessness of the youngest listener, or how appropriate a tale is to what has just happened in the storyteller's world. And every cook knows that a recipe changes according to the time of day, the weather, the altitude, the number of grains in the level teaspoonful, the ingredients found (or not found) in the cupboard or refrigerator, even the cook's own feelings about the look of the batter.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1566566436
• ISBN13: 9781566566438
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Crocodile Books
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 2.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.9" x 10.8"
• Age Range: 5 to 11 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 6

Customer Reviews

Fairy Tale Feasts

This book is the perfect combination of cookbook and fairy tales. Each story is told then a recipe is given which represents the story. Lots of fun for moms and children together!

This is fabulous!

I have always absolutely loved Jane Yolen and having a cookbook written by her is just a dream come true. My son, six years old, is the perfect age for being engaged in the stories AND cooking the resulting recipes. He loves this book. Ms. Yolen has written many of our family's favorites, including Sacred Places and Child of Fairie, Child of Earth. Anything that has her name on it, I will carefully consider. She's amazing.

Fairy Tale Meals

This book has the most beautiful illustrations on each page. One gets the feeling that the recipes will be as wonderful as the pictures! The recipes are also very unusual such as Cinderella's "Pumpkin tarts" from her infamous carriage ride with the prince. It also has the most unique memorabilia in the index on each page. I learned things I had totally forgotten since my childhood days when the fables were more truth than fiction. It's a book that will be passed onto the children of the children reading it!

An outstanding collection

Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook For Young Readers & Eaters pairs recipes by Heidi E.Y. Stempled with tales retold by Yolen and illustrations by Philippe Beha. The food focus provides a lively collection pairing sidebars about the stories' creation and food history with recipes and classics. Kids and parents will find it an outstanding collection.