Review + Teachers’ Notes – ‘Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street’

Title: ‘Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street’
Author:  Felicita Sala
Publisher: Scribble
Age Range: early childhood/lower primary/middle primary/upper primary/ middle grade/ young adult
Themes: cooking, food, international cookery and food, multicultural, neighbourhood

This is one of my ‘must-have’ books of 2019 – the perfect combo of story and food; a narrative with recipes! In a very fab apartment block, everyone is preparing a special dish for a shared neighbourhood meal. We meet each of the neighbours and can then cook a dish from their country of origin, with cuisines ranging from Italian, Japanese, Greek and more…and having road tested several of the recipes I can highly recommend the black bean soup.

Click on ‘Buy from Booktopia’ when shopping online in Australia to #supportaustralian. Purchase in store from your local independent bookstore where possible #supportlocal.

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FOLLOW IT UP IN THE HOME, CLASSROOM OR LIBRARY

Prepared by teacher Melissa Kroeger for Children’s Books Daily in context with the Australian Curriculum.

‘Pull up a chair and grab a plate! Everybody is welcome at 10 Pomegranate Street.’

Title: ‘Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street’
Author:  Felicita Sala
Publisher: Scribe Publications
Age Range: early childhood/lower primary/middle primary/upper primary/ middle grade/ young adult
Themes: cooking, food, international cookery and food, multicultural, neighbourhood

What’s not to love about a cook book? I have been a long-time fan of children’s cook books with their beautiful illustrations or photographs and often simple but tasty food. 

‘Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street : A Collection of Recipes to Share’ tells a story of a multicultural apartment block and a dedicated double page recipe with what each neighbour is cooking from Salmorejo to Coconut Dahl. Simple fresh flavours to entice everyone!

Sala has used watercolours and coloured pencil to create sublime illustrations, showcasing all the ingredients of each recipe. And as food brings everyone together, everyone sits down to share their cooking delights with one another. It couldn’t be more perfect.

About the Author: Felicita is a self-taught illustrator. She studied philosophy and languages in Australia, but then decided she wanted to create pictures. Since moving to Italy, she has worked on a few stop-motion animation projects along with her husband, Gianluca, but her passion lies in making picture books. She gets inspired by nature, children, mid-century illustration, folk art and architecture. She lives in Rome with Gianluca and their daughter, Nina.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

• Do you have a favourite recipe? Do you cook it? What ingredients are in it? How do you make it?
• Did you find a favourite recipe in the book? Which one was it? Why do you like it?
• When reading through the recipes did you find any ingredients you had never heard of before? Search where it comes from.
• Could you guess what country some of the recipes originate from? How did you know? Could you tell by the ingredients or by the illustrations or were there other clues you found? What were they?
• Did you come across any recipes that you didn’t know what country they originated from? What were they? Search what country they come from.
• Does your family get together for meals? How often? What makes this time special? What do you talk about? Do you have a favourite family meal that you all love to eat? Who cooks it? Does the recipe come from another country? Or has the recipe been in your family for generations?
• Does your family invite other people around to share a meal? What do you eat special food? What kinds of foods? Do you enjoy this time? 
• A recipe usually has a title, ingredients and method/steps. Can you find these things in each recipe in the book? Point them out and tell the class.

CURRICULUM-LINKED ACTIVITIES

YEAR 1 ENGLISH
Language – Text Structure and Organisation

ACELA1447 Understand that the purposes texts serve shape their structure in predictable ways 

Activity: Procedure

• Choose a recipe from the book ‘Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street’
  • Write the recipe out clearly with the title, ingredients and method (use different colours to highlight each section). You may like to number the steps of the method to make it clearer.
  • Find the same recipe in another book or an internet search. Compare it to the other recipe. How does it differ? Which one would you prefer to make? Why? (less steps, sounds tastier etc).
  • Now make your recipe following your method!
  • Evaluate: how did it turn out? Would you make it again? Would you change anything?

YEAR 3 ENGLISH
Language – Text Structure and Organisation

ACELA1478 Understand how different types of texts vary in use of language choices, depending on their purpose and context (for example, tense and types of sentences)

ACELY1792 Use interaction skills, including active listening behaviours and communicate in a clear, coherent manner using a variety of everyday and learned vocabulary and appropriate tone, pace, pitch and volume 

Activity: Mini Masterchef

• Choose a recipe from the book ‘Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street’
  • Write the recipe out clearly with the title, ingredients and method (use different colours to highlight each section). Number the steps of the method to make it clearer.
  • Find a recipe with the same title in another book or an internet search. Compare it to the other recipe. How does it differ? Which one would you prefer to make? Why? (less steps, sounds tastier etc). 
• Be star of your own cooking show! Have someone film you making your recipe. 
  • Talk loudly and clearly, specifying the steps that you do as you go. Bring it in to share with the class along with your food creation for everyone to try!
  • Evaluate: how did it turn out? Would you make it again? Would you change anything?

YEAR 3 HASS
Geography

ACHASSK069 The similarities and differences between places in terms of their type of settlement, demographic characteristics and the lives of the people who live there, and people’s perceptions of these places 

ACELY1792 Use interaction skills, including active listening behaviours and communicate in a clear, coherent manner using a variety of everyday and learned vocabulary and appropriate tone, pace, pitch and volume 

Activity: Design a poster/visual presentation/PowerPoint and presentation

• Either from your recipe from the ‘procedure’ activity above or choose a recipe from the book ‘Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street’
  • Search what country/town/village/outstation the recipe originates from.
  • Find that place on a map. Display it on a map of the world.
  • Discover 10 facts about the place, people, food grown, culture etc.
  • Give reasoning for the recipe originating in this area.
    
• Find a recipe that is local to the area you live in.
  • Find that place on a map. Display it on the map of the world that you used above.
  • Discover 10 facts about the place, people, food grown, culture etc.
  • Give reasoning for the recipe originating in this area.
  • Compare these facts with the above country/town/village/outstation. Discuss the comparison.
• Present your findings to the class keeping in mind tone, pace, pitch and volume for communicating your ideas. Maybe even make the recipes for your peers to try for extra points?!

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