Fabled fare
By Staff -- Playthings, 9/1/2006
In Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers and Eaters, Jane Yolen (who was awarded a Caldecott Medal for her picture book Owl Moon) combines a modern, lively retelling of favorite foodie fairy tales with complementary recipes from daughter Heidi E. Y. Stemple. Fun facts and anecdotes about the origins of the stories and the history of the foods that they include, plus fanciful illustrations by artist Philippe Béha round out each chapter.
“The book was my mother's idea,” Stemple tells Playthings. “I think she secretly always wanted to write a cookbook but does not like cooking. I love to cook, so she said, 'Heidi, we're doing a cookbook!' How could I say no?”
Worldly eatsYolen says that when compiling the stories, she specifically looked for tales that had been told in different versions all around the world. “Not just European and not just Grimm's,” she says. The tales also “had to have some food reference, like Cinderella's pumpkin coach. Once we had enough stories, we had to make decisions about menus.”
“Many of the recipes in the book are ones I cook all the time—lemon chicken [The Three Lemons], seaweed stuffed shells [The Little Mermaid], baked beans [Jack and the Beanstalk],” Stemple says. “A couple are my mom's recipes—the carrot soup [Brer Rabbit] and Nana's potato salad [Little Red Riding Hood]. Some are new just for the book.”
Yolen's favorite part about working on the book was finding complementary stories and recipes that would resonate with both kids and adults. “We really see this as something the family can do together,” Yolen says. However, “the stories come first,” she says. “I can't retell a story unless I love (it) and can find its shining center. Then I let the original material go and tell it in my own way.”
Although Yolen and Stemple said they don't intend Fairy Tale Feasts to become a series, the authors will be working together again soon. A rhyming picture book for Harcourt about nesting birds is in the works, as well as Bad Girls, a nonfiction title for Charlesbridge about notorious women in history, such as Mata Hari, Salome, Ma Barker and Lizzy Borden. The prolific Yolen is also developing two graphic novels, two young adult novels and several picture books.
In support of Fairy Tale Feasts, the authors intend to make appearances at libraries, stores, schools and conferences.
