Lunchbox: The Story of Your Food

Lunchbox: The Story of Your Food by Christine Butterworth, illustrated by Lucia Gaggiotti (Walker Books)
PB RRP $16.95
ISBN 9781406319934
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

How many children don’t know where their food comes from? Ask them that question and they might answer, ‘the supermarket’, ‘the shops’ or something to that effect. Lunchbox: The Story of Your Food goes into detail about the origins of daily food items that are placed in children’s lunchboxes such as bread (from wheat and grown in the earth), cheese (milk and cows), tomatoes (fields), apples (orchards), and carrots (earth). The process starts from the beginning, be it a seed, or the milking of a cow, and continues in a step-by-step progression with entertaining and bold coloured illustrations.

The various food categories necessary for good nutrition and growth follow, i.e. carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables, protein and dairy. A page of Food Facts includes the importance of drinking enough water and eating breakfast each day, being active, and eating a variety of fruit and vegetables. This is followed by an Index of the food types with a page reference.

The cover reflects the contents of the book in eye-catching pictures from the book with a strip down the side featuring all the food groups. The terrific fly pages are covered in all the food found in lunchboxes. This highly educational, interesting and valuable resource will suit children who question the origins of their food, and for adults to use as a starting point in educating children about the things they eat.