Kidlit Celebrates Women's History Month: Alice Waters

March 21 - Today's post contributed by The Fourth Musketeer

Alice Waters and the Youngest Foodies

I grew up in the 1960's and 1970's, when Jello mold, Kentucky Fried chicken, and a glass of Tab were considered a perfectly acceptable meal to feed your kids. TV cooking shows consisted largely of Julia Child's refined French cooking. In today's brave new world of 24 hour cooking shows on Food Network, there's even a reality cooking show competition just for kids, The Kids Baking Championship. Reality cooking shows abound on many other channels, even the august Public Broadcasting System. Our kids are more food savvy than ever, and boys as well as girls watch cooking shows these days.

Throughout history, of course, it's been women who've been most intimately associated with cooking and preparing food at home, but men who have been the great restaurant chefs. One important figure who has smashed this barrier is Alice Waters, chef and owner of Chez Panisse, a Berkeley, California restaurant known for using local, organic ingredients and pioneering "California cuisine." Alice is not only a chef, but also an activist, and in 2014 she was recognized as one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people. Described as a "revolutionary who wants to change the world through food" by writer and food critic Ruth Reichl. Waters also holds the distinction of being the first woman to win the prestigious James Beard Foundation Outstanding Chef Award.

Alice Waters

Author Jacqueline Briggs Martin (author of the Caldecott-winning Snowflake Bentley and many other favorite titles) traces the life of Alice Waters in Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious (Readers to Eaters Press, 2014), a thoroughly engaging picture book for young people ages 5 and up. The author starts our journey by telling us that "Chef Alice Waters wants every kid in the country to come with her on the trip to Delicious." All kids should know the "taste of good food" and "have a delicious lunch--every day." Briggs Martin highlights Alice's relationship with food, from her days as a child when she used fruits and vegetables to create a costume for a contest, to her studies in France, where she learned the importance of fresh, local ingredients, to her establishment of a Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California,in 1971. We learn that good food starts not in the kitchen but in the field, with good farmers. Soon Alice dreams of teaching children how to grow their own food, starting with just one school but expanding around the country. Children learn the importance of delicious food made from fresh ingredients they grow themselves. Her efforts grew into The Edible Schoolyard, whose mission is to build and share an edible education curriculum for students in grades K-12. The book features an Afterword by Alice Waters, an author's note, bibliography, and suggestions of resources for further reading on growing and cooking your own food.

The whimsical illustrations are by textile designer and artist Hayelin Choi. In her first picture book, she offers illustrations that perfectly complement the joyous feeling of the text, with smiling children from different ethnicities sharing the delight of good food. The artist also offers diverse perspectives, including some two page spreads set up in a square like a school yard, with pictures that children can follow around the edges.

This is a book profiles an important figure in American women's history; the book is sure to be of interest to young foodies, and may inspire some to become involved with growing their own food as well or starting Edible Schoolyard programs in their community.

Margo Tanenbaum is a children's librarian in the Los Angeles area. She is a co-curator of Kidlit Celebrates Women's History Month and also blogs about children's books at The Fourth Musketeer.

March 2 - Today's post contributed by Penny Peck

Many children prefer to learn with hands on activities, so crafts and games are a great way to celebrate women in history. Instead of sounding like a history lesson, this interactive format can attract a wide age range of children who will enjoy the crafts and art projects, as well as some fun games. Today, I am going to outline some simple do-it-yourself programming ideas tied to new children’s books on great women and their accomplishments.

The books and related activities are divided by age appeal, so you can use an activity with the appropriate grade level. For example, you can use books for young children in a storytime, along with the suggested hands-on activity, or use one of the books for tweens in a book discussion group who would also enjoy the related project. If a class comes for a library tour, you can read one of the short books suggested for that grade, or do booktalks if the class is 4th grade and up, and offer one of the activities that relate to those books.

You can also offer just one of these activities as a “passive program.” Just set up the supplies for one activity, along with a poster outlining the instructions, for parent and child to do together at a library table. These activities can also be adapted to the classroom, bookstore, or museum, since they fall into the type of “living history” activities that are so popular.

Here are several books and a hands-on activity relating to each, which would be a great focus for a Women’s History program.

Books for Grades 4-8:

Conkling, Winifred. Passenger on the Pearl: The True Story of Emily Edmonson’s Flight from Slavery. Algonquin, 2015.

Born a slave in 1782, Edmonson dreamed her children would be free. Filled with illustrations and sidebars, this history of their escape on a schooner in 1848 is an empowering look at an unknown true story. For a related activity, make paper quilt blocks similar to those thought to be used on the Underground Railroad: http://page.reallygoodstuff.com/pdfs/154227.pdf .

Draper, Sharon M. Stella by Starlight. Atheneum, 2015.

Stella uses writing to help her cope with the challenges of being an African-American girl in 1932 in North Carolina. Combining both sobering issues like segregation with humorous incidents like a Christmas pageant, this thoughtful novel will inspire readers to try their own hands at writing. Make journals out of cereal boxes: www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/cereal-box-books .

Gherman, Beverly. First Mothers. Clarion, 2015.

Short sketches of the U.S. Presidents’ mothers are the focus of this engaging collective biography. Watercolor and pencil illustrations bring these important figures to life – perfect for Mothers’ Day! For an activity, children can make Mothers’ Day cards for the important women in their lives: www.allkidsnetwork.com/crafts/mothers-day/ .

Grimes, Nikki. Chasing Freedom: The Life Journeys of Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony, Inspired by Historical Facts. Orchard/Scholastic, 2015.

One-page vignettes describe the fictional friendship of Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony, with factual information that shows the shared goals of these two women would have made them fast friends if they had met. Dramatic illustrations by Michelle Wood add to the enjoyment. For an activity, have readers write a letter to a famous woman they would like to meet, including elected officials, sports figures, entertainers, scientists or astronauts, or business leaders: www.readingrockets.org/article/introduction-letter-writing .

Kanefield, Teri. The Girl from the Tar Paper School: Barbara Rose Johns and the Advent of the Civil Rights Movement. Abrams, 2014.

Barbara Rose Johns is no longer an unsung hero in the Civil Rights movement, thanks to this book packed with photos and interesting information. In 1951, Johns led a walkout of her segregated high school to protest unfair conditions. For a related activity, readers can do something to benefit their own schools, including holding a book drive for the school library: www.instructables.com/id/Easy-book-drive-at-your-school/ .

Pinkney, Andrea Davis. The Red Pencil. Little Brown, 2014.

Set in Darfur about ten years ago, this novel in free verse describes the life of a 12-year-old girl and her experience in a refugee camp. Amira dreams of going to school to learn to read and write, something her traditional mother doesn’t support. Celebrate this true-to-life novel by making sandpaper art. Using crayons, draw on coarse sandpaper to create pictures of animals, scenery, or people. www.dltk-kids.com/world/egypt/sand_paper_art.htm.

Books for Grades 1-3:

Fern, Tracey E. Dare the Wind: The Record-Breaking Voyage of Eleanor Prentiss and the Flying Cloud. Farrar, 2014.

Prentiss was the navigator on the Flying Cloud, a ship that made a record-breaking voyage from New York City to San Francisco in 1851. This picture book biography brings that achievement to life. Children can make a ship model following these instructions: www.redtedart.com/2013/06/08/boat-craft-ideas-for-summer/ .

McCully, Emily Arnold. Queen of the Diamond: The Lizzie Murphy Story. Farrar, 2015.

Lizzie Murphy became a professional baseball player in the early 1900’s, and is the star of this picture book biography. Murphy’s life is an excellent example of a person standing up for herself against prejudice, doubt, and opposition. For a related activity, offer these baseball word search puzzles: http://homeschooling.about.com/od/freeprintables/ss/baseball.htm .

Editors Note: Emily Arnold McCully will be our featured contributor on March 6th!

Paul, Miranda. One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia. Millbrook, 2015.

In the 1980’s, Isatou Ceesay noticed that discarded plastic bags were harming the environment and animals in her native Gambia, so she came upon a solution. She crocheted strips of the plastic bags into purses to sell! Have tweens create their own bookbags by weaving strips of plastic bags: www.instructables.com/id/Woven-Plastic-Bag-Bag/.

Tonatiuh, Duncan. Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation. Abrams, 2014.

In both the straightforward text and the dramatic, stylized illustrations, readers will learn about the court case that integrated California schools in the late 1940’s. The Mendez family fought for all children to attend local schools at a time when segregated “Mexican” schools were the norm. For a related activity, children can make some authentic Mexican crafts such as papel picado: www.teachkidsart.net/mexican-papel-picado/ .

Books for Preschool – Kindergarten:

Martin, Jacqueline Briggs. Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious. Readers to Eaters, 2014.

This picture book biography celebrates Berkeley restaurant-owner and chef Alice Waters, who founded the Edible Schoolyard Project to promote healthy school lunches. One activity could involve growing a library vegetable garden if you have the space. Or, have children decorate flower pots planted with carrot seeds for their own home mini-gardens: www.kiddiegardens.com/painting_clay_pots.html .

Spires, Ashley. The Most Magnificent Thing. Kids Can Press, 2014.

In this picture book, a girl attempts to make a “magnificent thing” with unsuccessful results, until she learns to plan her project. Readers will take away the notion that invention takes several attempts as well as solid planning. For a related activity, use up all your leftover craft materials and recyclables and allow children to make their own collages, sculptures, or art projects: http://artfulparent.com/collage-art-ideas-kids .

Penny Peck has been a children's librarian for over 25 years; before that, she was Snow White and Mother Goose at Children's Fairyland in Oakland, ran a nightclub, worked as the wardrobe mistress for the Berkeley Ballet, and was an agent for a standup comedian. Her experience includes performing thousands of storytimes, leading hundreds of book club discussions for students in grades 4-12, conducting hundreds of school tours and assemblies, and reviewing children's books and media. She is editor of "BayNews," the newsletter for the Association of Children's Librarians of Northern California, www.bayviews.org. Since 2002 she has been a part-time instructor at San Jose State University, specializing in classes on youth and teen services and programming, and has written three books on children’s services, published by Libraries Unlimited, including Crash Course in Children’s Services: 2nd Edition (2014), Crash Course in Storytime Fundamentals: 2nd Edition (2015), and Reader’s Advisory for Children and Tweens (2010).