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Nonna Tell Me a Story: Lidia's Christmas Kitchen
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About Nonna Tell Me A Story: Lidia's Christmas Kitchen
Product Description America's favorite Italian-American cook, Lidia Bastianich, shares the story of the Christmases she used to celebrate in Italy with her five grandchildren. When Lidia was a child, she spent Christmas with her grandparents, where she learned to cook with her Nonna Rosa by preparing food in their smokehouse and kitchen. Lidia and her brother would also find a big beautiful juniper bush to cut down for their holiday tree. And they made their own holiday decorations with nuts, berries, and herbs they collected for their meals. This delightful picture book is filled with the story of Lidia's Christmas traditions, delicious recipes, and decorating ideas all perfected over the years by Lidia and her family. From School Library Journal K-Gr 2–Nonni Lidia tells her five grandkids about what Christmas was like in Italy when she was a child, with a juniper bush hung with real fruit, cinnamon sticks, and cookies. She so successfully evokes the fun and the tantalizing smells that the children decide to decorate their tree the same way. Bastianich, a television chef and cookbook author, clearly bases this story on her own family and experiences, and she includes plenty of delicious, if somewhat challenging, cookie recipes. The illustrations show round-faced, beaming family members cooking, eating, and celebrating together. A cheerful depiction of the making and sharing of holiday traditions. Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library © Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. From Booklist Kids won’t know the name of Lidia Bastianich, but foodie parents will. This famous Italian chef, TV cooking star, cookbook author, and restaurateur tells her five grandchildren how Christmas was celebrated when she was a child. This lightly fictionalized personal remembrance becomes the framework for descriptions of how the whole family decorates the juniper bush with apples, tangerines, figs, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and wrapped walnuts and almonds. Recipes for 16 delicious-sounding traditional Italian goodies make up the second half of the book but are definitely for adults to make (the recipe for Fried Ribbon Cookies, for example, takes up two pages with its small type). The soft-toned illustrations feature Bastianich with her signature close-capped haircut and are cozy as all get-out. Narrative directions for the decorations are included, and notes convey her belief that food provides “nourishment, pleasure, and communication at every family’s table.” Grades 1-3. --Julie Cummins Review Kirkus ReviewA Christmas reminiscence from the Italian-American cooking-show host. Her warmhearted autobiographical story begins in a contemporary Christmas setting with the author, her five grandchildren and her own mother. The author then gathers her grandchildren around to recount her memories of childhood Christmases in Italy, when all the decorations for their trees were homemade cookies and ornaments made from natural materials such as figs and bay leaves. The next section includes the recipes for the 16 holiday treats mentioned in the story, primarily different types of Christmas cookies. A final section describes the family’s traditions for decorating their tree in more detail. Logan’s pleasant illustrations of the happy family add to the amiable overall effect. The main story is accessible enough to children, but making the recipes will clearly require an adult’s assistance. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 5-8) Relish “The book contains adorable illustrations by Renée Graef and eighteen recipes, which emphasize fresh seasonal ingredients.” About the Author Lidia Bastianich first learned how to cook in Italy when she was a little girl. She now owns four restaurants in New York City, one in Pittsburgh, and one in Kansas City. She has three television shows on PBS, including Lidia's Italy, and is the author of numerous bestselling
