David Macaulay: The Way We Work

By JULIETTE ROSSANT David Macaulay's The Way We Work: Getting to Know the Amazing Human Body (Houghton Mifflin 2008) might not seem to be a Foodie book for children or adults, but it most definitely is. Every Macaulay book brings accuracy, inquiry and acute perception into what surrounds us, whether it be the buildings we live in, the machines we use, or our own bodies. Knowing more and understanding more about our own bodies, especially when information is delivered in amazing drawings to explain complex processes simply, means we will appreciate food more. Take Chapter 3, called "Let's Eat": For most of us, what happens to food inside the body once a meal has been consumed is something of a mystery. But, as with so many aspects of the human body, this is a journey well worth taking. Why should food have all the fun? The journey, through Macaulay's incredible drawings is wonderfully fun and illuminating. It is the pieces of the puzzle that makes eating understandable – and well - cool. He starts with a drawing of what's for dinner: a red snapper, pasta, broccoli and tomatoes, with some yellow sauce that swim across pages 101-102. That gives him an opportunity to describe the building blocks of nutrition and set the scene for smell (pp. 102-103). A crew of yellow raincoat clad observers examine a slice of the nasal cavity as if they were visiting a construction site in slick rainfall. Your kids won't find this gross and disgusting – just amazing. They'll reach for fromage (presumably, a very stinky piece of French cheese a nose is sniffing in the corner) and try it themselves. The same small group of intrepid investigators will follow the broccoli and fish and all the other food through the digestive passages. The drawings provide an unusual perspective – they place you at the back of the mouth looking out across the tongue and a close up of taste buds to the outside world. It is a view of the mouth that is unique and impossible to do oneself. Another picture shows the broccoli swimming about in a "Sea of Saliva" (pp 110-111). Macaulay's other book look at architecture and engineering in surprisingly clear and insightful ways. He often turns to engineering to explain digestion. The liver is turned into a processing plant (pp. 128-129), Pancreatic Hormones are depicted coming out of cells and into cells that are like factories (pp. 132-133). If younger children aren't ready for the text, they can understand the "story" of digestion by "reading" these pictures. The Way We Work is a great holiday gift for any child or adult – Foodie or not. It is more than a science book – it is a book of discovery. Previous articles: [Childrens Cookbooks - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef