Stone soup and other tales of plenty

Last year, for my son's first birthday, my mom bought him a copy of Tawny Scrawny Lion, the Golden Books classic by Gustaf Tenggren that tells the tale of the insatiable lion who suddenly becomes fat and happy after several bowls of carrot stew from his new found rabbit friends. So satisfied was he, that he was no longer interested in his hunt, kill, and eat sessions day in and day out. Reading this book to my sons, I had a tremendous sensation of deja vu, having read this book so often as a child myself. The colors and rhythms of the book jumped from the page in ways that made me ache with nostalgia. Interestingly, this time around, I was hyper aware of the violence of the story, as the lion makes his way through the tale killing and eating his prey and strongly desiring to eat the little rabbits who are being so hospitable to his scrawny self. I thought of editing the story as I read, but thought the better of it, as I myself was not spared these brutal realities when I was young. And I really cannot remember being troubled by it at all back then. And perhaps an edited version would only serve to downplay the tremendous turnaround that is the lion's, shall we say, redemption.

This story got me thinking later about other tales of food I read as a child that drew me in. The other memorable book that came to mind was Stone Soup, and, ironically, it is also the tale of how something magical can come from something so small and insignificant, such as a pot of water. As with the lion of the earlier tale, the villagers of Stone Soup slowly and unwittingly begin assembling the most amazing of soups, all thanks to a bit of cunning from the soldiers (like the rabbits) who have been rebuffed by them just moments earlier. A few veggies here, a little meat or fish there, a bit of grains as well. Some may say that curiosity killed the cat, well, in this case, perhaps it saved him. Soon there is a feast for all.

When I started to think about it more, I was a bit amazed that these two favorite books of mine as a child had so much in common, and that I had never thought about them in this way before (here's where my grad school degree in comparative literature comes in handy [insert wry smile here]). To this day, I am often in awe of the simple pleasures of making soups or stews. How starting with so little, a pot of water or broth, a few spices, some well-chosen vegetables, perhaps a little meat or milk, some rice or grains, can all come together to become the most satisfying of meals. It is magical.

I would love to hear some of your favorite children's books about food. In addition to the two mentioned above, I have compiled a list of a few on the top of my head that we have in our library, but I hope to keep adding to it going forward.

• The Gigantic Turnip
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• Walter the Baker
• Green Eggs and Ham
• The Tale of Peter Rabbit (the meal of berries and bread at the end of the book is always so inviting)
• Honorable mention: The Boy Who Ate Words (not exactly about food, but the metaphor is wonderful)

Happy eating, happy reading, and, most of all this night, happy sleeping.