Runaway Dinner: Allan Ahlberg

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Allan Ahlberg has some three dozen books to his name, which is one of the best and brightest in British children's literature. His latest title, The Runaway Dinner (Candlewick Press 2006) is fast-paced tale of a young boy in pursuit of his dinner -- literally. If "On Top of Old Smokey/Spaghetti" comes to mind, the wacky tone of this wacked-out tale will erase that thought immediately, especially when you realize that each item of food so hotly pursued has a name far more common than the book's hero, young "Banjo Cannon": And the best part is... it's all true. Illustrator Bruce Ingman is equally impressive, whether in terms of publishers (Simon & Schuster, Candlewick, or Walker) or recognition. Together, the team of Ahlberg and Ingman make for a unexpected tale reminiscent of Lisa Kopelke's Excuse Me!. Previous articles: Sam Stern's Cooking Up A Storm Food Adventures: For Kids Christmas Remembered: Tomie dePaola Nora Sands: Nora's Dinners Back to School: Mollie Katzen's Salad People Annabel Karmel: First Meals [Cookbook Reviews - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef