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What the World Eats
Sitting down to a daily family meal has long been a tradition for billions of people. But in every corner of the world this age-old custom is rapidly changing. From increased trade between countries to the expansion of global food corporations like Kraft and Nestlé, current events are having a tremendous impact on our eating habits. Chances are your supermarket is stocking a variety of international foods, and American fast food chains like McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken are popping up all over the planet.
For the first time in history, more people are overfed than underfed. And while some people still have barely enough to eat, others overeat to the point of illness. To find out how mealtime is changing in real homes, authors Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio visited families around the world to observe and photograph what they eat during the course of one week. They joined parents while they shopped at mega grocery stores and outdoor markets, and participated in a feast where a single goat was shared among many families. They watched moms making dinner in kitchens and over cooking fires, and they sat down to eat with twenty-five families in twenty-one countries--if you’re keeping track, that’s about 525 meals!
The foods dished up ranged from hunted seal and spit-roasted guinea pig to U.N.-rationed grains and gallons of Coca-Cola. As Peter and Faith ate and talked with families, they learned firsthand about food consumption around the world and its corresponding causes and effects. The resulting family portraits offer a fascinating glimpse into the cultural similarities and differences served on dinner plates around the globe.
For the first time in history, more people are overfed than underfed. And while some people still have barely enough to eat, others overeat to the point of illness. To find out how mealtime is changing in real homes, authors Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio visited families around the world to observe and photograph what they eat during the course of one week. They joined parents while they shopped at mega grocery stores and outdoor markets, and participated in a feast where a single goat was shared among many families. They watched moms making dinner in kitchens and over cooking fires, and they sat down to eat with twenty-five families in twenty-one countries--if you’re keeping track, that’s about 525 meals!
The foods dished up ranged from hunted seal and spit-roasted guinea pig to U.N.-rationed grains and gallons of Coca-Cola. As Peter and Faith ate and talked with families, they learned firsthand about food consumption around the world and its corresponding causes and effects. The resulting family portraits offer a fascinating glimpse into the cultural similarities and differences served on dinner plates around the globe.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2008
About the author
Faith D'Aluisio
6 books8 followersFaith D’Aluisio is the editor and lead writer for the Material World book series. She received the James Beard Foundation Award in 1999 for Best Book, Reference and Writing on Food for Man Eating Bugs: The Art and Science of Eating Insects. She is a former television news producer whose work received awards from the Radio-Television News Directors Association and the Headliners Foundation of Texas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 208 reviews
May 4, 2009
This has to be the most information crammed into 160 pages I have ever encountered. But "crammed" in a fairly orderly, well-laid-out fashion. This book has so many possibilities for schools, both children and adult groups, libraries. Heck, you could build a whole curriculum out of this book! The author and photographer went to 21 countries and met with 25 families. The basic package takes a snapshot of each family with a week's worth of food. Included are the number of family members, and how much they spend -- in their currency compared to the U.S. dollar. Countries include Australia, the United States, Chad, China, Equador, Mali, Guatemala, India, Japan and Poland. Many also have more pictures of the family in their day to day lives, as well as brief conversations on what they like, and the contrasts between the older and younger generations. These contrasts are especially evident in countries such as China, Japan and India, which is seeing more and more fast food and "western" influences. My best friend, who also read this, pointed out something interesting -- how many of the families in the industrialized worlds had prepackaged, brand name foods, while other countries had more fresh stuff. Interesting, especially when you look at the sugar consumption, etc. I think one of the saddest pictures/profiles was one of the families in Chad, a refugee family. There were six people, sitting before food that barely looked adequate for two or three people for three days, much less a week. Wow. That was eye-opening. There also are a few "family recipes" in the book. Some won't be possible, but I know a lot of groups often have international days, and I think some of the recipes may be workable with little to no revision. I wonder if there are plans for revisions and updates?
May 14, 2017
This book has really inspired me! One day I will take a picture of what my family eats in one week!
January 14, 2012
This book is fantastic. It has photos of people with a week's worth of food. Little kids can look at just the photos and older kids can read the accompanying text.
Did you know that in Greenland seal meat is eaten?
Did you know that in one of the Chinese families the mom makes only $2.50 a day at her job?
Did you know in Kuwait a Big Mac costs around seven dollars? I sure could not afford that.
Lots of interesting stuff here!
I would have liked an end section on "How we made this book". (Like I have seen in the Kids Around the World book.) Did they pay the families for their time? Did they stay a week and watch them eat? etc.
Did you know that in Greenland seal meat is eaten?
Did you know that in one of the Chinese families the mom makes only $2.50 a day at her job?
Did you know in Kuwait a Big Mac costs around seven dollars? I sure could not afford that.
Lots of interesting stuff here!
I would have liked an end section on "How we made this book". (Like I have seen in the Kids Around the World book.) Did they pay the families for their time? Did they stay a week and watch them eat? etc.
February 8, 2024
What the World Eats, Faith D'Aluisio, 2008, 160 pages, ISBN 9781582462462
This is a children's book. And yet it starts by saying, we're all getting fatter and sicker because we eat too much of "energy-dense" food. pp. 9-10. It hits this note harder with a table of "overweight" and "obese" fractions of males and females by country, p. 55. And these "facts about the United States: 8.8% of the population age 20+ have diabetes; taxpayers pay 50% of obesity-related medical costs; 25% of men, 45% of women are on a diet on any given day; 95% will regain the lost weight in 1 to 5 years." p. 145. This is gratuitous shaming. There is no instruction on how to eat to grow slim. Indeed, the author trumpets her ignorance by equating sugars and fats as supposedly foods to avoid, and using the term, "energy-dense," as if lots of grams per calorie were the mark of a good food. For the truth, read /Eat Fat and Grow Slim/ by Dr. Richard Mackarness, and the latest by Gary Taubes. More here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
This is a children's book. And yet it starts by saying, we're all getting fatter and sicker because we eat too much of "energy-dense" food. pp. 9-10. It hits this note harder with a table of "overweight" and "obese" fractions of males and females by country, p. 55. And these "facts about the United States: 8.8% of the population age 20+ have diabetes; taxpayers pay 50% of obesity-related medical costs; 25% of men, 45% of women are on a diet on any given day; 95% will regain the lost weight in 1 to 5 years." p. 145. This is gratuitous shaming. There is no instruction on how to eat to grow slim. Indeed, the author trumpets her ignorance by equating sugars and fats as supposedly foods to avoid, and using the term, "energy-dense," as if lots of grams per calorie were the mark of a good food. For the truth, read /Eat Fat and Grow Slim/ by Dr. Richard Mackarness, and the latest by Gary Taubes. More here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
January 2, 2009
a fascinating photo essay by the same people who created the book "Material World", using the same format. Each country featured in the book is represented by one family (except for the US which has 3) photographed in their homes, surrounded by one week's worth of food. the food is painstakingly listed on the facing page, broken down by food group (dairy, meat, grains, etc.) and costs are listed, both in local currency and in the US equivalent. It is very, very sobering to see what a family in Darfur eats in one week (cost = $1.22 US) vs. say, France ($419.95 US). It's also just interesting to see what sort of foods are the same from one culture to another, and what is very different. Which countries eat a lot of packaged food and which eat mostly whole foods. Which food groups each family spends the bulk of their budget on (is it meat? snack foods? vegetables?). Scattered between these portraits are essays about the featured families and charts and graphs that bring these comparisons to light, as well as a few photo collections ("street food around the world" should not be read closely by guinea pig owners). The book manages to maintain a very non-preachy attitude and just presents the information and lets the reader come to their own conclusions. This would be a great book to share with kids to help them develop their understanding and world view.
September 18, 2011
This is a YA book, but is nonetheless fascinating. Families in twenty-one countries are profiled: what they eat, who cooks, what/how they eat during the day. Each family has a photograph with everything eaten in a week, and there is an itemized list as well as basic demographic health facts for each country (#s per sugar eaten per capita per year, etc). Costs are also discussed.
Fascinating. My 6th grader is now going through it.
*Pet peeve alert*
This book discusses Great Britain as a country. Great Britain is an island, the United Kingdom is a country. And the map of the world highlighting the country--yeah, it includes Northern Ireland. This alone nearly knocks this to 3 stars--and prevents it from even being considered for 5.
Fascinating. My 6th grader is now going through it.
*Pet peeve alert*
This book discusses Great Britain as a country. Great Britain is an island, the United Kingdom is a country. And the map of the world highlighting the country--yeah, it includes Northern Ireland. This alone nearly knocks this to 3 stars--and prevents it from even being considered for 5.
Read
July 21, 2024I would never refer to myself as a foody, but I am so intensely fascinated in food, particularly food around the world and other peoples routines and meals, so I LOVE this book. BUT, the creators seem horrid, the writing is very judgey and fatphobic and white saviour and yick. The pictures and raw data are so cool.
January 15, 2015
I cannot rate this book high enough. Six or seven stars would be selling this book short. This is a great book for teaching kids (and adults) about what is consumed around the world. When my daughter was 4 we look through this book together, and when we got to the chapter on the African family she stated "they must have more food in the tent". I explained that was all their food, and she stated "well they will have to go grocery shopping". I further explained that there was no grocery stores. She began to cry and I explained that some people aren't as lucky to have as much food as we have in this country. I felt badly that I made my daughter cry but it was a valuable lesson that she learned about the differences in other countries.
February 25, 2015
Wow! I read this for my non-fiction children's materials unit and it was a fascinating look at what families in other countries eat in a week! Wonderful for a geography or social studies unit.
January 8, 2019
This was extremely interesting, with photos of what families in different parts of the world eat in a week. Some were shocking in what they had to survive on; others for the abundance. There was a lot of focus on weight with the Western families, which was not my favorite, but I loved the visual nature of the book. I’d like to see an update since this came out over a decade ago.
Read
April 18, 2015This non-fiction book was a fascinating look at what families from a variety of countries around the world eat in one week. Photographer Peter Menzel, known for his international feature stories on science and the environment, took beautiful pictures of families from Australia, Egypt, Mexico, Poland, Turkey, and the United States, among many others. Organized alphabetically by name of the country, the first photograph of each section was a full-page spread, showing a week's worth of food that the family had shopped for and/or grown themselves. It also listed their cooking methods, type of food preservation, and favorite foods of the family members. Family recipes, like the Dongs of Beijing's recipe for "Pigskin Jelly" were often included.
Other photos included the families shopping for food at local markets and from street vendors, methods of transporting the food, utensils used, fast food options, such as Mackas (Australian slang for McDonald's) were included. Textbook-like in format, I found that the photos kept the reader interested in the facts and statistics scattered throughout the book. A map of each country showed its location in relationship to more familiar countries in the world. For example, I had never heard of Bhutan, but now realize its central location to India and mainland China.
Writer and editor Faith D'Aluisio, received the James Beard Foundation Award in 1999 for Best Book, Reference and Writing on Food, for "Man Eating Bugs: The Art and Science of Eating Insects." A former television news producer, Faith, and Peter, who are married, again won the James Beard Foundation Award in 2005 for Book of the Year with "Hungry Planet: What the World Eats."?
I was interested to note that guinea pig, or "cuy," is such a delicacy in Ecuador. Faith said that on five previous trips to Ecuador, she had failed to partake of this huge treat in the Andean countries of South America. (I can certainly understand this!) Finally trying this meat in a storefront restaurant called Salon Los Cuyes II, which is loosely translated to Guinea Pig Hall II, she said that the light-pink meat was served with a traditional potato, onion, and peanut-sauce stew, and was delicious. I, however, had a difficult time getting past her description of the whole guinea pig being cooked on the rotisserie, which she compared to a "...big dachshund with [a fat, rat head,] complete with protruding incisors and crispy rodentlike ears.
Several disturbing statistics included, on page 55, charts and graphs comparing the countries' obesity rates with that of the United States. The U.S., according to the World Health Organization Global InfoBase Source Metadata estimate for 2005, has an overweight population of 75% for males, and 73% for females. The obese population is 37% for males, and 42% for females. This is significantly more than even Mexico and Australia, which are close at second and third, respectively. Sadly, this is job security for my daughter, Katie, who wants to be a nutrition counselor in the field of dietetics.
Other photos included the families shopping for food at local markets and from street vendors, methods of transporting the food, utensils used, fast food options, such as Mackas (Australian slang for McDonald's) were included. Textbook-like in format, I found that the photos kept the reader interested in the facts and statistics scattered throughout the book. A map of each country showed its location in relationship to more familiar countries in the world. For example, I had never heard of Bhutan, but now realize its central location to India and mainland China.
Writer and editor Faith D'Aluisio, received the James Beard Foundation Award in 1999 for Best Book, Reference and Writing on Food, for "Man Eating Bugs: The Art and Science of Eating Insects." A former television news producer, Faith, and Peter, who are married, again won the James Beard Foundation Award in 2005 for Book of the Year with "Hungry Planet: What the World Eats."?
I was interested to note that guinea pig, or "cuy," is such a delicacy in Ecuador. Faith said that on five previous trips to Ecuador, she had failed to partake of this huge treat in the Andean countries of South America. (I can certainly understand this!) Finally trying this meat in a storefront restaurant called Salon Los Cuyes II, which is loosely translated to Guinea Pig Hall II, she said that the light-pink meat was served with a traditional potato, onion, and peanut-sauce stew, and was delicious. I, however, had a difficult time getting past her description of the whole guinea pig being cooked on the rotisserie, which she compared to a "...big dachshund with [a fat, rat head,] complete with protruding incisors and crispy rodentlike ears.
Several disturbing statistics included, on page 55, charts and graphs comparing the countries' obesity rates with that of the United States. The U.S., according to the World Health Organization Global InfoBase Source Metadata estimate for 2005, has an overweight population of 75% for males, and 73% for females. The obese population is 37% for males, and 42% for females. This is significantly more than even Mexico and Australia, which are close at second and third, respectively. Sadly, this is job security for my daughter, Katie, who wants to be a nutrition counselor in the field of dietetics.
November 12, 2018
I have rarely been so disappointing in a book. I'd seen it touted all over the place as a fabulous book to learn some geography and appreciate world cultures. But this is really a book about McDonald's and obesity. I skipped first to the USA sections -- the place I know best -- and it starts by talking about how in some high schools there are more soft drink machines than water drinking fountains. And when, shocker, teenagers drink a lot of soda in such an environment, the conclusion is "parents aren't teaching their children good eating habits."
Yeah, I'm sure the parents of all those teens told them that soda's a nutritious meal. If you're a growing teenager in an essential food desert (locked in a high school) where the only calories available to you are soda...blaming the parents will help?
I was really hoping for a book that celebrated food cultures around the world and looked at world economics. There's some economics there, but this book focuses heavily on shame and obesity, and McDonald's. Specifically McDonald's. Over and over again. I was really, really hoping this could be a great geography book for my kids. And there's some amazing photos in here! But I'd worry it would give them unhealthy body image issues.
I love books that inspire healthy living -- but I really dislike the approach of trying to ladle on guilt. And on top of that, I had high expectations for a geography book after reading so much hype.
Yeah, I'm sure the parents of all those teens told them that soda's a nutritious meal. If you're a growing teenager in an essential food desert (locked in a high school) where the only calories available to you are soda...blaming the parents will help?
I was really hoping for a book that celebrated food cultures around the world and looked at world economics. There's some economics there, but this book focuses heavily on shame and obesity, and McDonald's. Specifically McDonald's. Over and over again. I was really, really hoping this could be a great geography book for my kids. And there's some amazing photos in here! But I'd worry it would give them unhealthy body image issues.
I love books that inspire healthy living -- but I really dislike the approach of trying to ladle on guilt. And on top of that, I had high expectations for a geography book after reading so much hype.
March 1, 2013
What the world eats is an interesting time consuming book about what exactly people from every country eats . A problem in this story is how lob sided every country is with obesity and world hunger. For example a country like the United States with an obesity rate of 68.8 percent of Americans over weight or obese clearly has problems verses a country like Hati with 91.3 percent of Hatians left hungry. In the book I was reading the author was suggesting it is not how much food we eat, it is actually the type of food we eat. The inexpensive fast food corporations such as mc donald's and Burger King appeal to the public and are the source of over forty percent of the country's weight issues which is another major problem in the United States. As I read more of these books I learn a lot about world wide obesity, but I also learn about the country s lack of disipline so what I think is that as a country we need to learn how to overcome these problems as a nation and figure out a way to help the hungry countries by doing what ever we can.
March 2, 2014
I thought their idea to photograph families around the world was terrific, and offers quite a stark comparison of what we eat. I hadn't realised that Kuwait had such a bad obesity problem (more than half the women are obese!). Interestingly, Bhutan also has a surprising percentage of obese people and perhaps my impression was skewed because the family featured was a rural household and I'm guessing that the majority of the obese people in Bhutan live in urban areas.
I read the book whilst watching a programme entitled something like "tastiest places to eat in America" which featured huge burgers and plates of pancakes that exceeded the recommended daily calorific consumption for an adult. The excessive eating in those American places looked even more ridiculous when contrasted with pictures of the meagre amounts consumed in some of the families in the book.
As it's a coffee table book, it doesn't have a great deal of depth about the topic but I thought it provided a nice inspirational base for the reader to learn more about diet and nutrition.
I read the book whilst watching a programme entitled something like "tastiest places to eat in America" which featured huge burgers and plates of pancakes that exceeded the recommended daily calorific consumption for an adult. The excessive eating in those American places looked even more ridiculous when contrasted with pictures of the meagre amounts consumed in some of the families in the book.
As it's a coffee table book, it doesn't have a great deal of depth about the topic but I thought it provided a nice inspirational base for the reader to learn more about diet and nutrition.
August 30, 2011
The author of this book visits 25 families in 21 countries around the world to discuss what they eat. My favorite part is that each family is photographed surrounded by a their typical week's worth of food. By each photograph is a breakdown of what type of food they eat, if it was homegrown, any trips to restaurants, and how much everything for the week cost.
The contrasts between these families are amazing. A typical week's worth of food in some places costs less than $2.00 because they must produce their own, there are not supermarkets. The family in France which was chosen typically spends over $400 a week on their food and beverage purchases.
This is an interesting read designed to make one think and ponder.
The contrasts between these families are amazing. A typical week's worth of food in some places costs less than $2.00 because they must produce their own, there are not supermarkets. The family in France which was chosen typically spends over $400 a week on their food and beverage purchases.
This is an interesting read designed to make one think and ponder.
February 20, 2013
this book is absolutely fascinating. there are photographs of families that live in different parts of the world with the food they eat in a week. there are families from chad, bhutan, australia, greenland, usa, france, equador, and more. there are also descriptions of a typical day of food preparations for each of the families. there are also graphics illustrating food consumption patterns, population density, and obesity. the book was written in 2004, but it is still very relevant. we have checked it out of the library several times, and it never fails to capture my interest. the kids are interested too.
July 13, 2011
Wonderful photo essays on what different families eat around the world and how much it costs to feed them.
I loved looking at the egyptian family and spoting the different products. Often I would bring this book to the dinner table and show my husband a page and exclaim "look they eat polar bear!"
I loved looking at the egyptian family and spoting the different products. Often I would bring this book to the dinner table and show my husband a page and exclaim "look they eat polar bear!"
November 1, 2008
This book sucked me in. It was fascinating to see the wide variety of ways that people eat and the price of food around the world. It made me think a lot about what I am purchasing. Great for a geography class.
April 22, 2009
Everyone in the world should read this gorgeous, eye-opening book that somehow manages to be both information-dense and almost delicate in its approach.
June 22, 2016
Such a great read. It was so interesting to see how diets change from country to country. Full review to come.
June 27, 2017
Holy cow, this book is absolutely packed with factoids. The premise is capturing a week's worth of food for 25 different families in 21 countries across the world. A photo of each family with their week's worth of groceries is included, along with the cost (in both native and US $), a breakdown description of everything there divided by categories (dairy, beverages, grains, condiments, etc.) a sidebar of food- and economic-related statistics for that country (ex. percentage of population with access to safe water; percentage of population with diabetes, # of fast food restaurants in the country, etc.). Following is a 1-2 page description of how the family prepares and eats their food. Mixed in are pages of global comparison statistics, such as percentage of overweight and obese populations across countries; annual meat consumption per person in various countries; percentage of population living in urban areas, and so on. Sometimes a referenced recipe is included, such as the recipe for aiysh, the gruel that serves as the standard meal 3 times a day in several African countries. I found it fascinating, but it serves better as a reference book for different cultures than a sit-down-and-read-through kind of book.
April 25, 2016
Title: What The World Eats
Author: Faith D’Aluisio
Illustrator: Peter Menzel (photographer)
Genre: Photographic Essay
Theme(s): culture, diversity
Opening line/sentence: “Imagine for a moment that it is Saturday morning in the United States.”
Brief Book Summary:
What The World is about different places and families all over the world and what sorts of things they buy at the grocery store. Everything is then broken down into watch each individual item costs in both local and U.S. monies. The foods that are purchased are also broken down into different categories like grains, dairy, meet, fruit, condiments, etc. At the end of the family’s pages there is a recipe of one of their favorite meals to eat.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Gillian Engberg (Booklist, Jul. 1, 2008 (Vol. 104, No. 21))
Starred Review* The authors' Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, published for adults, won the James Beard Foundation Award in 2005 for Book of the Year. In this new youth edition, the creators have reworked the text, added new material, and honed the book s focus to more specifically reflect the experiences of young people. The basic concept, however, remains the same: an illustrated survey of what people across the globe eat in a single week. In preparation for this project, Menzel and D Aluisio shared meals with 25 families in 21 countries around the globe. Each chapter serves as an intimate photo-essay of a different family and their week s worth of groceries, listed (with prices in both local and U.S. currency) and pictured in a photograph of food and family members that opens each section. Stunning color photographs of mealtimes and daily activities illustrate the warm, informative, anecdotal narratives about each family. New to this volume are the many pages of statistics, displayed in eye-catching graphics that compare various countries rates of obesity, access to safe water, daily caloric intake, and other food-related issues. Like the adult edition, this is a fascinating, sobering, and instructive look at daily life around the world, and it will draw readers of a wide age range to its beautifully composed pages. Grades 4-8
(PUBLISHER: Tricycle Press (Berkeley Calif.:), PUBLISHED: c2008.)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Marilyn Courtot (Children's Literature)
If you have ever wondered what your counterparts around the world eat for their daily meals, some answers can be found in this impressive book. It takes a look at what a typical family in a variety of countries buys for a weeks worth of groceries. The families are pictured with the food and the cost is given in local and U.S. dollars. In addition, the foods are categorized: grains; dairy; meat, fish and eggs; fruits and vegetables; condiments; snacks; prepared food; fast food; beverages; and miscellaneous. Readers are presented with a fact box that summarizes information about the country and a presents a section of a world map to show where that country is located. The pages that follow describe life in that part of the world and how the family shops. There are also recipes of some of the traditional foods. A reader might assume that those from wealthier countries who have a variety of foods from around the world might have a healthier diet, but that is not always the case. Major and abrupt changes in diet such as those of aboriginal Australians, Native Americans and the like can bring on diseases like diabetes and issues related to obesity. The book is a treasure trove of facts most of which are presented in graphs and charts. Some that are really intriguing include the number of McDonald s restaurants and a comparison of the overweight and obese populations. You can see a correlation. Other charts relate information about annual meat consumption, life expectancy, access to safe water, literacy rate and fertility rates. There is extensive back matter including books, films, websites and lists of sources plus an extensive index. The author has created an excellent book for reference, report writing and browsing. 2008, Tricycle/Ten Speed Press, $22.99. Ages 10 up.
(PUBLISHER: Tricycle Press (Berkeley Calif.:), PUBLISHED: c2008.)
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
I think both of these reviews are great! I think the second review went into a little too much detail about the book, however. They could have left some of the information out for the reader to find out. I liked how the first review discussed the pictures and how they add warmth to the book. I also like how the first review talked about how the authors went to multiple countries and families around the world and shared meals with them. I think the second review focused a lot on the graphs and charts that are provided and not enough on the photographic aspects.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
The pictures are absolutely wonderful and eye catching. They consist of posed family photographs but also candid ones, as well as pictures of the grocery stores, markets, towns, villages, etc. The candid pictures are definitely my favorite because it shows the reader exactly what it is like to be a part of the family and what they had to go through just to get food. There is more text than I expected but only on certain pages. When the book introduces a new family, there is a page dedicated to explaining the different aspects of the family, how they obtain food, what the families favorite meals are, etc. As the reviews mentioned, there are lots of graphs and charts that help explain concepts without using words. Maps are also provided for each family to show the reader where in the world this family is from and where it is on a map. I love that!
Consideration of Instructional Application:
To incorporate this book into my classroom I would first have everyone find out what their heritage was. Then, I would have each child bring in a dish to share that represents their heritage. As a class, we would go around and try each other’s dishes and get to experience something different.
Author: Faith D’Aluisio
Illustrator: Peter Menzel (photographer)
Genre: Photographic Essay
Theme(s): culture, diversity
Opening line/sentence: “Imagine for a moment that it is Saturday morning in the United States.”
Brief Book Summary:
What The World is about different places and families all over the world and what sorts of things they buy at the grocery store. Everything is then broken down into watch each individual item costs in both local and U.S. monies. The foods that are purchased are also broken down into different categories like grains, dairy, meet, fruit, condiments, etc. At the end of the family’s pages there is a recipe of one of their favorite meals to eat.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Gillian Engberg (Booklist, Jul. 1, 2008 (Vol. 104, No. 21))
Starred Review* The authors' Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, published for adults, won the James Beard Foundation Award in 2005 for Book of the Year. In this new youth edition, the creators have reworked the text, added new material, and honed the book s focus to more specifically reflect the experiences of young people. The basic concept, however, remains the same: an illustrated survey of what people across the globe eat in a single week. In preparation for this project, Menzel and D Aluisio shared meals with 25 families in 21 countries around the globe. Each chapter serves as an intimate photo-essay of a different family and their week s worth of groceries, listed (with prices in both local and U.S. currency) and pictured in a photograph of food and family members that opens each section. Stunning color photographs of mealtimes and daily activities illustrate the warm, informative, anecdotal narratives about each family. New to this volume are the many pages of statistics, displayed in eye-catching graphics that compare various countries rates of obesity, access to safe water, daily caloric intake, and other food-related issues. Like the adult edition, this is a fascinating, sobering, and instructive look at daily life around the world, and it will draw readers of a wide age range to its beautifully composed pages. Grades 4-8
(PUBLISHER: Tricycle Press (Berkeley Calif.:), PUBLISHED: c2008.)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Marilyn Courtot (Children's Literature)
If you have ever wondered what your counterparts around the world eat for their daily meals, some answers can be found in this impressive book. It takes a look at what a typical family in a variety of countries buys for a weeks worth of groceries. The families are pictured with the food and the cost is given in local and U.S. dollars. In addition, the foods are categorized: grains; dairy; meat, fish and eggs; fruits and vegetables; condiments; snacks; prepared food; fast food; beverages; and miscellaneous. Readers are presented with a fact box that summarizes information about the country and a presents a section of a world map to show where that country is located. The pages that follow describe life in that part of the world and how the family shops. There are also recipes of some of the traditional foods. A reader might assume that those from wealthier countries who have a variety of foods from around the world might have a healthier diet, but that is not always the case. Major and abrupt changes in diet such as those of aboriginal Australians, Native Americans and the like can bring on diseases like diabetes and issues related to obesity. The book is a treasure trove of facts most of which are presented in graphs and charts. Some that are really intriguing include the number of McDonald s restaurants and a comparison of the overweight and obese populations. You can see a correlation. Other charts relate information about annual meat consumption, life expectancy, access to safe water, literacy rate and fertility rates. There is extensive back matter including books, films, websites and lists of sources plus an extensive index. The author has created an excellent book for reference, report writing and browsing. 2008, Tricycle/Ten Speed Press, $22.99. Ages 10 up.
(PUBLISHER: Tricycle Press (Berkeley Calif.:), PUBLISHED: c2008.)
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
I think both of these reviews are great! I think the second review went into a little too much detail about the book, however. They could have left some of the information out for the reader to find out. I liked how the first review discussed the pictures and how they add warmth to the book. I also like how the first review talked about how the authors went to multiple countries and families around the world and shared meals with them. I think the second review focused a lot on the graphs and charts that are provided and not enough on the photographic aspects.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
The pictures are absolutely wonderful and eye catching. They consist of posed family photographs but also candid ones, as well as pictures of the grocery stores, markets, towns, villages, etc. The candid pictures are definitely my favorite because it shows the reader exactly what it is like to be a part of the family and what they had to go through just to get food. There is more text than I expected but only on certain pages. When the book introduces a new family, there is a page dedicated to explaining the different aspects of the family, how they obtain food, what the families favorite meals are, etc. As the reviews mentioned, there are lots of graphs and charts that help explain concepts without using words. Maps are also provided for each family to show the reader where in the world this family is from and where it is on a map. I love that!
Consideration of Instructional Application:
To incorporate this book into my classroom I would first have everyone find out what their heritage was. Then, I would have each child bring in a dish to share that represents their heritage. As a class, we would go around and try each other’s dishes and get to experience something different.
April 16, 2018
This informational book focuses extensively on a multitude of countries with varying cultures and what they eat on a given day. There's a huge amount of pictures that capture the lives of these very different people around the world. The comparative data of all observed countries was valuable and peaked my curiosity. In countries such as China and America, it was responsive of the author to compare families from differing regions to highlight that they were very different. On the other hand, I would’ve liked to have seen the statistical data in one section of the book so that I might compare all of it at once. While the information was spread out, it wasn’t necessarily specifically applicable to what was read, therefor not necessary to be where it was placed. I don’t think it was the best decision to choose an American family in North Carolina and Texas. Both of these states, while far from each other, are quite similar. It would’ve been more interesting to only choose one of these states and compare with somewhere in a large city or on the opposite side of the country.
September 27, 2022
Mostly I found this appalling. So much meat... I have plenty of money for groceries and am an omnivore, but the amount of meat the rich countries' example families eat is incredible. And the lack of nourishing food in the less well-off homes is disturbing, of course, too (even discounting the refugee camp, which of course is unfair). I did not read every word, and I do not trust every evaluation, but it's still a wonderfully enlightening book. For all ages, especially adults, even though my library had it in Juvenile.
Most ppl in India still don't have indoor toilets! Ppl in Greenland still hunt for subsistence! Disability checks in Australia can support enough meat to feed an army!
I would like to know how the data for the week was calculated. I tried to figure out what ours would be, and I'm not sure that I could get it right even if we all three carried notebooks around. But I do know we eat hella less meat and hecka more beans, and are better off in wallet and on waist, for it.
Most ppl in India still don't have indoor toilets! Ppl in Greenland still hunt for subsistence! Disability checks in Australia can support enough meat to feed an army!
I would like to know how the data for the week was calculated. I tried to figure out what ours would be, and I'm not sure that I could get it right even if we all three carried notebooks around. But I do know we eat hella less meat and hecka more beans, and are better off in wallet and on waist, for it.
April 2, 2019
“What the World Eats” is a fascinating book showing what people around the world eat in a week. It tells how much money is spent on groceries, how many people are in the family that the food feeds, as well as a detailed grocery list. Other features in this book include charts and graphs about various things such as number of McDonald’s in different countries and percent of overweight or obese citizens in different countries. I found this book to be extremely interesting. Every section started off with a picture of the family and all their food for the week laid out in front of them. It was mind blowing to see the differences in food eaten by people from different countries, as well as the difference in prices. This book is very eye opening, and really shows you how much of the food eaten here in the US is unnecessary.
October 19, 2020
Charming and fascinating. A brief but vivid window into a dozen or so families' lives in very different circumstances - a refugee camp in Chad, the mountains of Bhutan, an apartment in Mongolia, and so on. We get a portrait of each family with one week's worth of food, followed by an itemized "receipt" of the food (including how much was paid) and a few pages describing their daily life. Every so often, there are interjections of data visualizations and stats - as a data person, I found these sometimes left me wanting more. But that's fine! As a piece of qualitative research, this was wonderful. I felt myself transported, reminded again that there's a whole wide world out there beyond my narrow perspective of American politics, covid, and my specific daily life. Really great.
Oh yeah, and the authors really despair over McDonald's.
Oh yeah, and the authors really despair over McDonald's.
January 23, 2018
D’Aluisio, Faith What the World Eats, photographed by Peter Menzel, 160 p. Tricycle Press, 2008.
From the creators of Material World and Hungry Planet comes this knockout book about what25 families around the world grow, make and buy to feed themselves for a week. Each family is photographed with all of the makings for their weekly meals. Full of details about nutrition and lifestyle without ever being boring. This book is utterly fascinating and I really want posters of all of the family portraits and the ingredient lists for a fabulous display! I hope that Tricycle comes up with some related materials for this must-have title!
EL, MS, HS – ESSENTIAL. Cindy, Library-Teacher.
From the creators of Material World and Hungry Planet comes this knockout book about what25 families around the world grow, make and buy to feed themselves for a week. Each family is photographed with all of the makings for their weekly meals. Full of details about nutrition and lifestyle without ever being boring. This book is utterly fascinating and I really want posters of all of the family portraits and the ingredient lists for a fabulous display! I hope that Tricycle comes up with some related materials for this must-have title!
EL, MS, HS – ESSENTIAL. Cindy, Library-Teacher.
May 25, 2017
This book is great !
It is a beautiful picture of different families around the world and examples of what their food may look like for a week. It shows the different choices that are made and the quantities that are used. This is shown in photos with the family members that live together and share that food.
It is a beautiful picture of different families around the world and examples of what their food may look like for a week. It shows the different choices that are made and the quantities that are used. This is shown in photos with the family members that live together and share that food.
May 6, 2024
It was interesting to see what families from all over the world eat in a week; it was very eye opening. I loved the pictures of the families and I really enjoyed reading about each family and their way of living, along with the charts and graphs of how different countries compare in multiple different categories.
March 26, 2019
Fascinating book about food/diet around the world. Formatted more like an atlas and includes charts, maps, currency exchange rates and lots of photographs. Would be a great asset to a geography study.
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