I loved History Is Delicious. The illustrations and layout are vibrant, exciting, and inviting. Joshua Lurie did an excellent job unveiling the history behind many multicultural dishes, cuisine, and cultural traditions in a clear and easy-to-understand language. The “of the world” bits were my favourite part; the author did a fantastic job highlighting things that many different cuisines have in common, such as spice, a version of dumplings, and the use of noodles.

If I could be a little picky, since this is a book for children, I would have liked to see pronunciation help for non-English words! But other than that, I felt this book is a fantastic introduction to food-related knowledge. I love that it helps children get excited to try new things and empowers them with a cultural food understanding. Many children are cautious about the unknown, and this book allows them to remove this obstacle!
I won’t lie that I will be getting this book for my son AND myself!

Disclaimer: I first read it as an ARC. In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to Joshua Lurie, Honest History, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of History Is Delicious.

Here are my pros and cons for History Is Delicious:

Pros
1. This book is a great introduction of cuisines of the world to children.
2. This book also shares interesting information about the different eating utensils used around the world, and tips on things you should and shouldn’t do when dining in various countries.
3. Foods of several countries are discussed in the book, including Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Ethiopia, Vietnam, India, Egypt, Israel and more.
4. Each dish discussed includes a brief description of the item along with an illustrated picture of the food. There are even some recipes included for the budding chef to try!

Cons
1. I wish the names of the foods had pronunciation help so children (and adults) could learn how to say the words correctly.
2. While the illustrations are cute, real pictures of the food might have been more useful.

Summary
This book is quite detailed and almost reads like a mini-encyclopedia. That isn’t a bad thing, but younger kids might simply flip through this book, and likely won’t read it unless they are very interested in cooking and world cuisine. But to those kids who are interested in the history of food or other culinary arts, this would be a fantastic book for them.

Thank you NetGalley and Honest History for a free eARC of this book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with this copy of eBook. 

I have this ever-expanding list where I keep adding the different food dishes that I want to eat from the various cuisines of the world. History Is Delicious by Joshua Lurie made me add a dozen or more so dishes to the list! Filled with amazing illustrations and amazing details, all I have to say is that don't read this book when you're hungry.

I have to admit, that I am quite sad that you haven't included portugal and for example our culture with coffee and tea. I think that this is a pretty cool book to offer to a friend that enjoys culinary and at the same time would like to know new recipes. I sure will try to the spanish one as they are my hermanos.
Also, I liked the illustrations, they are very cute!!
I would just like to have mooooore recipes.

First up a big thank you for this book! I always love history and food and when combined I love it even more. Sadly, I think this is a case of I need to read this in physical book instead of a book on my laptop. The information is interesting, but I notice that nothing sticks and the book and I just don't click.
I do love the colours, that the book is split in countries/themes, I like the fonts. I do miss photographs or illustrations.
If I can find this book when it releases in physical form I will definitely read it again. If I think about it, I will also update the review. :)
For now 4 stars as the book definitely deserves that.

This was unfortunately a miss for me. I enjoyed getting to learn about other cultures, but as someone who's struggled with eating disorders, all the different foods was very overwhelming for me. I found this title in the children's non-fiction section on Netgalley, so I had anticipated less exotic foods being included, especially with it being marked for children.

If you are a foodie who likes learning about history and culture, this book is totally for you. I unfortunately am not, so my not being the target audience is what lead to a lower rating. It's not a reflection on the author's writing or information.

History is Delicious will entertain any young person who enjoys food, while sneakily educating them. As a bonus, this book just might jolt them out of their favorite foods rut.

The use of pleasant fonts and colorful pages makes sure that this book isn't mistaken for just another boring history book. Whimsical illustrations are kept small and simple. I'm happy that actual food photography was *not* used, and I'll tell you why. No one starts out as a perfect cook. Young people already have enough pressure on them to learn, succeed and excel. Now, imagine them facing down a photograph of a perfect plate of onigiri, Japanese rice balls. No pressure, just get it perfect, right? But, a simple illustration of a plate of onigiri gives them a visual that doesn't overwhelm. It's not intimidating. No matter how their first attempt at onigiri turns out, this illustration will not judge them.

There's enough information about each country to provide context to the foods being discussed. And learning about local dining customs is fun and interesting. I enjoyed the "Table Settings Around the World" section which teaches how food is transported to your mouth in various countries. The use of thin, fermented pancakes as eating utensils should appeal to kids of any country!

As the author says in the introduction, "This is the book I wish I had when I was your age to help me know what else is possible." I agree. I wish I'd had it during my own struggles with learning to cook.

My thanks to author Joshua Lurie, Honest History, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.

History is delicious was very interesting indeed! Full of facts and pretty illustrations, but I would have liked to see images for the recipes. I feel like kids are very visual, but maybe that's just me. Also, I would say this book is for older kids and even teenagers.

Thank you NetGalley for the free ebook copy in exchange of a honest review.

I had high hopes for this book - enjoying the premise that it would be all about food throughout the world, throughout history. Whilst it is certainly packed full of information, it's clearly written for a very American audience - and actually I'd query some of the things written in it.. for example the advice in England that 'Don't ask for modifications or substitutions. This may offend the chef', perplexes me.... as a British citizen and current resident of England.

This book is absolutely packed full of information - making it more appropriate for teens I feel. The reader has to be keen to learn about food and other cultures as most pages are wordy and very text heavy. I feel it would be improved with more images - for the 'must try' dishes from the countries at the end for example.
That's not to say there isn't interesting content, pages about how table settings vary throughout the world for example,

Overall, it's a great idea and some parts of it are very well executed but, perhaps it's a cultural difference, I've seen other non-fiction books for children that are more effective and engaging in their layout and how they present information.

I really love the layout of this cute cookbook. It is separated out by country/continent and talks about a lot more than just food. I see a lot of different customs coming out in the way tables are set and the way foods are prepared. It is really nice to have an insight into why other countries do what they do during meal times, and some of them I learned a whole lot about! This is a very interesting book and I would definitely recommend it to everyone!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-book!

I thought this was a sweet little book, sort of an introduction for children to learn about different food cultures around the world. I can't speak to the authenticity of many of the subjects, but I appreciated that there were a variety of different countries included, from Italy to Turkey to China to Ethiopia and more.

I really liked the inclusion of the few recipes, however, I think they would hold more weight if they weren't all from chefs/restaurants in Los Angeles. I also think the layout, while colorful, was maybe a bit too much (color-wise), and could benefit from different, more cohesive font choices.

Overall, it's a book I'd definitely include in my classroom library for little foodies to expand their minds upon!

This book succeeds in furthering the notion that to truly make incredible authentic cuisine, one must immerse themselves in the culture. It is such a fascinating background on how some cuisines that are found in the States are not authentic due to demand and adapting.
There are a few dishes assigned and statements that did have me scratching my head slightly. Overall, the illustrations and information is worth the read for any cook of any age.

I love it when non-fiction books for kids are presented well and made really fun. This would be a great gift for a child who is interested in food. I know my grandson will be getting a copy from me just as soon as it is published.

As a children's librarian, i'm always on the look out for interesting J nonfiction books, and this one is awesome. This bright, colorful book is a mix of history, culture, and cooking, taking readers around the world and highlighting the food of different nations. Each entry starts off with a short history lesson, typically providing context as to the current state of the area's culinary traits. At the end of each section, there's a recipe from one of the featured countries. This book is a great introduction to culinary differences around the world, as well as how other factors (cultural and historical events, etc) can impact culinary evolution. The inclusion of recipes, mostly of easier items to create, helps readers connect to what their reading, and gives them the chance to try things out for themselves. This is a quick read, engaging for young readers, and provides enough information to be educational without overwhelming its target audience.

This book is full of interesting facts about food and tips from lots of countries. I love that it has recipes to try as well. The different fonts are nice as well as the layout of the book.