Pickle Words

Praise

Who doesn’t love a pickle? Sayre and Sun introduce children to the world of fermented food in this blending of poetry and fact. An author’s note explains that this book arose out of a fun author visit activity creating poetry out of words used to describe pickles. Sayre’s crisp poetry accompanies informative text blocks like a good pickle partners with a sandwich. Not only does she cover fermented foods from a variety of cultures and countries, she also explores the history and science of pickled foods. Sun’s digital media illustrations are as vibrant as pickles are flavorful. Wide-eyed children in every range of skin tones try fermented foods from kosher dills to kimchi, and from chowchow to chutney, which are all labeled with the kinds of punchy words Sayre and her students discovered in her workshops: “zesty,” “puckery,” “fresh,” “sharp,” or just down right “tasty,” to name a few. Back matter includes notes on the different pickling processes—fermenting, canning, and quick pickling—as well as a variety of sources to explore and even a recipe for quick dill pickles. Readers of all ages will be inspired to try new pickles and write some pickle poetry.
—Children’s Literature