“Food Rules”
By Bill Haduch
Illustrated by Rick Stromoski
Published by Dutton’s Children’s Books
Copyright © 2001
Food is an amazing thing. It tastes good. It gives us energy. It makes us happy. But what happens to the food once we eat it? What kind of food should we eat? What happens when we eat the wrong kinds of food too often? These questions and more are answer in “Food Rules”
In a succinct and funny way, albeit cheesy, Bill Haduch informs kids on the best way to eat if they want to feel good. He teaches them how to be aware of advertising and how to be smart consumers. What I really appreciated about this book was that he didn’t talk down to his audience. Haduch used unknown words like hypothalamus, hydrochloric acid, and pancreas and explained what these things were and did in a way that was easily understood.
He also included a section on food production of the future by way of hydroponics and genetic engineering, which by the way are already here. While I didn’t like that genetic engineering was presented in such way that it seemed like a good thing at least it opened up the idea to children. They will now know in a nut shell what it is which will prepare them for further information on the subject and make them even savvier consumers.
This is a wonderful tool to introduce nutrition to children ages 8 and up, and help fight the battle of childhood obesity. I dare say that even adults will find this simple to read guide to be quite informative.