Who Wants Pizza?

Title: Who Wants Pizza?: The Kids' Guide to the History, Science and Culture of Food  
Author: Jan Thornhill 
Publisher: Maple Tree Press by Owlkids Books Inc. 
Publication Date: 2010 
Genre/Format: Nonfiction-Informative/Picture Book 
Summary: This isn't just a book about pizza - it's a book all about where our food comes from, what we're really eating, and how what we eat impacts the world we live in. 
What I Think: Seriously, this isn't just a book about pizza.  This book takes an eye-opening look at the history of food and how food has changed through time.  I've read a lot about food and factory farming and eating more locally grown and whole foods in the last year and a half but most of this reading was adult reading with some young adult mixed in.  This book is great for middle grades to YA even.  I wouldn't recommend it to younger children because there are some pretty intense pictures in this book.  It definitely doesn't sugar coat where food is coming from or how consumers need to make healthy and smart choices when it comes to the food we eat.  Knowing that I know now about the food industry, I'm glad there is a book like this that doesn't mince words and that does use real photographs to make its point.
     My husband is a P.E. teacher and he is continually talking to his students about being healthy and getting exercise.  He does a unit on super foods and brings in super foods to show students, shares the benefits of the food, and even gives them recipes to try with the super foods.  I love the emphasis he puts on making healthy choices in their eating and that he does encourage them to do so.  I don't remember getting that kind of information in school - from elementary through high school.  I remember learning about the food groups and what foods to eat and not to eat, but I never learned about where food comes from or specifically looked at exactly what foods or how many calories my body really needed.  This book isn't the end all be all to health and nutrition, but I love that is lays out some serious information about food and can open the door to questioning and discussions.  I'm eager to share this with Peanut and Little Bean when they get older!
Read Together: 6 - 12 
Read Alone: 8 - 12 
Read With: Gabby and Gator by James Burks, Fat Cat by Robin Brande, The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet by Alicia Silverstone,  That's Why We Don't Eat Animals: A Book About Vegans, Vegetarians, and All Living Things by Ruby Roth 
Snatch of Text: 

"Crazy Numbers"

"Quick! What's the most numerous large mammal on Earth? Humans win, with 6.8 billion. And second? Cattle take the prize, with a population of 1.3 billion. Third are sheep, at 1.1 billion. And then come pigs and goats. All domesticated. To get what we want from these animals, we have made them the next most populous large mammals on the planet. But in trade for being fed and protected from predators, most are denied the freedom to live according to their instincts - to be active, to socialize, to choose mates, and to rear young."
Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Using Non-Fiction Text Features, Asking Questions, Making Connections 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Expository, Persuasive 
Writing Prompts: Choose a topic from this book that you would like to learn more about, research this topic and then create a document that explains the topic to others.  Extension: Add a persuasive panel where you persuade the reader to make better choices about the food he or she buys and eats.
Topics Covered: Integration - Science, Integration - Health, Food, Farming, Animals, Culture, Diet, Lifestyle 
Translated to Spanish: No