These cheerful new books in the Who Made My Lunch? series explore the process of growing, processing, and bringing to market several popular types of food. From Corn to Cereal tracks the production of corn flakes from planting corn to the harvest, mill, and cereal factory. From Grove to Fruit Salad covers how oranges, strawberries, apples, and bananas are grown, harvested, stored, and shipped. From Potato to Chip follows potatoes from the fields to the harvest and the steps needed to prepare chips at a factory. From Wheat to Pasta focuses on durum wheat, which becomes semolina and then pasta, with extra-charming illustrations of pasta shapes spewing from a factory machine. For the most part, the text is clear and simply written, with several sentences on each page or spread, although the author occasionally drops in a complex scientific term, for example, “ethylene gas,” which helps bananas ripen. Large, colorful illustrations give the volumes a picture-book feel and provide a friendly and appealing introduction to a variety of farms, factories, and methods of shipping. The obligatory back matter is relevant: a world map showing where the key crop or crops are grown, a brief glossary of topic-specific words, and several print and digital resources about the topic. These books will keep readers’ attention as they learn more about the foods they eat.
