Tasty explores the history of favorite foods and how they developed over time with our favorite food fairies guiding us along the way. A new friend is introduced which adds a little drama but also expands the story. Yummy was recommended to me so I ultimately read these back to back. Who knew there was so much history around food? Absolute must have for fans of fun facts (well, actually just a must have).

This was a really great book! I learned so much about the history of different foods. I also really enjoyed that there were recipes throughout the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This book promises to explore the history of common foods and boy does it deliver. We get a deep dive into the development of cheese, bread, pickles, and more. Exploring history is more than just a bare bones timeline of the food itself. No, Elliott digs into societal influences, the growth of agriculture, the need to preserve food, even how climate influences the development of certain foods. Where appropriate, this means looking at parallel experiments in different cultures. This could be quite dry but Elliott has managed to keep it light and entertaining. The illustrations style is very cartoony and adds to the humorous tone.

Tasty is a fast-paced, fact-filled tour of the history of a variety of popular foods. A trio of food loving sprites covers the origins of cheese, pickles, gelatin, sodas, and processed foods and in many instances shows how those foods changed or adapted as they were impacted by people’s needs or circumstances or were introduced into other cultures. Information includes both a historical perspective and a look into the science behind the development of these well-known culinary items. Each section concludes with a recipe. With fun illustrations, engaging facts, and an accessible approach to non-fiction, readers who enjoyed Yummy will devour this sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC to read and review.

(3.5 / 5)

This history of certain foods told by "food sprites" in a colorful graphic novel is a fun, unique book for kids. It may work better for the age group it's intended for than it did for me, not that I didn't enjoy it overall. However, I had hoped for a little more of the science promised at the beginning of the book, especially at certain points when a statement is made that leaves me wanting to know more (like how does the wheel shape help cheese stay dry and avoid spoiling?). It makes sense that this wouldn't be a comprehensive look at the foods chosen to be included—cheese, pickles, gelatin, etc., but some of the information goes by so fast, it's hard to absorb it all.

Outside of the history told, there's (sort of) a story going on with the sprites, but it's really confusing to me. The main sprite, Peri, seems to have some kind of rivalry with a water sprite that pops in to talk about liquids sometimes, but why? I have no idea. I guess the author felt that giving the sprites a little of their own story would make it more engaging to kids, but I paid little attention to their little asides, other than the bizarre contention between Peri and Maia, which stuck out quite a bit. And there's a place in the pickles section where the characters cry, "THE SAUCE" like a battle cry, like something we're supposed to "get"...but I don't. Maybe some of this connects back to the pervious book by this author, Yummy: A History of Desserts, but not having read that one, I can't say for sure. While I do think that kids who are interested in food or cooking would probably enjoy this graphic novel, I don't know that I'd recommend it for adults, unless they're really into food history. Though in that case, they probably already know all of, or more than, what this book provides.

Tasty by Victoria Grace Elliott is a non-fiction graphic novel loaded with info regarding food history. The cute characters telling the story share knowledge about pickles, soda, cheese, pizza, and more. This is a fun book for children and adults to learn facts about the origins of the foods they love and how they integrated their way into our culture. The illustrations and graphics are fun and have a good amount of text, images and recipes throughout.

Since this was a digital Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) from Net Galley and the publisher it was read on a device. I do think this one would be read best in a printed version. :) Thank you for the ARC!

This was such a good follow-up to the first book in this series! The same characters are back to teach about the food we eat in a lively way. This book focuses a lot on food experiments -- like how did we end up eating things like pickles and cheese and offers an expensive look through history. The art is cute and whimsical but also pretty tasty. The information is presented in lots of different ways -- like a fake talk show. Kids who are interested in food or want trivia will eat this book up.

If you love food, and learning about its origins then this might be the book for you! Told in the form of a graphic novel with adorable and funny characters, you are taking a journey and learning about the origins and history of some of our favorite foods. Some of those include pickles, cheese and soda! I loved that the author even included fun recipes after each section. If you or someone you know struggles to read nonfiction (I definitely do) but you still want to learn the history behind food, then I think snagging a copy of this graphic novel would be a wonderful idea. Perfect for kids and adults alike, you won't be disappointed! I will definitely watch out for more from this author, especially if they do more with this concept and the characters. You should pick this one up!

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Children's, and the author for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Very informative. Very cute illustrations! Funny and likable narrators. If you’re interested in learning about how different foods came about and all the history and science behind them, this book is for you!

Colorful and interesting history about food in a graphic novel format that kids will enjoy. I will definitely add this to my school library collection.

I had a good time reading this one. I enjoyed the art style quite a lot and it helped to make the information even more interesting (I'm usually more of a fiction person). There were a few times that the characters made comments that I didn't understand or didn't seem to fit the section of the book. Likewise, it was sometimes difficult to discern how the information was being presented (I thought it was chronological by date, but then it would return to something from an earlier date). These were only minor complaints, though, because in the end I learned a lot and enjoyed reading the book. I especially appreciated that the author didn't shy away from the more complicated, complex and darker side of food history. Nonfiction lovers, readers that are interested in food and/or history, and graphic novel fans will likely enjoy this one.

For budding food enthusiasts, cooks, or kitchen scientists, this graphic novel did what the first one on desserts did-- made me hungry and appreciative of the research that goes into food history around the world. Using comparisons on the basics of a food to showcase how it was changed, adapted, and eaten across the world and for that reason, it's comprehensive for a younger audience. If they wanted more, they can conduct more research and reading themselves.

In this tasty history-- Elliott uses her sprites to talk about cheese, gelatin, "easy" food, pizza, pickle, and soda. And it's broken up into the history with a possible interview of a famous person, a recipe, and some basic information. It's fun and lighthearted while also teaching readers serious food history that kids could find recognizable and also inquire more about (gelatins, for instance. Wild!)

Loved the first one and this one did not disappoint either! Perfect mix of cute illustrations, interesting food history, and fun storytelling.

If you enjoyed Yummy: A History of Desserts (and if you haven't read it, I highly recommend you do!), you will love this look at other forms of food that started out as a little bit of a surprise. The main sections are cheese, pickles, gelatin, processed foods, and sodas, and each is a HUGELY deep dive into the subject! Each chapter starts out with a map of where products were developed, and it was interesting that not a lot of cheese was developed in North America. (Except, of course, Velveeta. Which does make an awfully good mac and cheese!) I loved the illustrations, and was impressed by the research that went into this; there's a nice bibliography at the end.

I could have done without the sprites, but my students seem to enjoy them. There are some recipes, and I'm definitely going to have to try to make Gooey Butter Cake. Definitely will purchase a copy of this since I am such a fan of food history, but personally like the format of Kim Mill Zachmans' There's No Ham in Hamburger better. My students always prefer a graphic format.

I wanted to so enjoy this graphic novel but it was just too much information per subject that it didn't hold my attention and I found myself skipping ahead. I tried to read this together with my 7 and 12 year old girls but again thr text was too much for this type of format.

Tasty is a non-fiction graphic novel filled with information about food history. The characters telling the story are little sprites with expansive knowledge about cheese, pickles, sodas, and more!

The storytelling was very fun and I love the idea of a non-fiction graphic novel. I think this is a great way for kids (and adults) to learn fun facts about the origins of the foods they love, and how they found their way to our culture today.

The cartoons are adorable and the pages are nicely balanced with dialogue, text, drawings, and recipes.

I love graphic novels focused on food and recipes and this one is amazing. It has so much detail explaining the history and origin of foods that are so famous like pizza, soda, cheese, pickles... Things we don't take a moment to realize they had their own journey since ancient history, including traveling, colonization... or even influence in other cultures. That's what I like most about this is knowing that food can be native to a region but also was crucial in evolving side by side with us.

The characters are food fairies and they are all lovely. The artwork is awesome and the pages are designed freely with images and notes instead of being constricted inside organized panels. I love it. Sometimes there are legends (stories about these foods or ingredients) that have some truth to them and other times full recipes.
Well researched and put together.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this eARC.

This was an enjoyable nonfiction read that I know my students will enjoy. Anything “graphic novel” is automatically being checked out. It was fun learning about the history of different foods. I hope to purchase this for my elementary library when it comes out.

Curious kids are going to eat this up (pun very much intended)! I like the way the book is organized and how the art is fully integrated into the storytelling, history, and facts. I think this would be a fun addition to a middle school classroom or library.