Calling all curious foodies. I’ve found the Perfect Picture Book for you!
Title: The Traveling Taco: The Amazing & Surprising Journey of Many of Your Favorite Foods
Written By: Mia Wenjen
Illustrated By: Kimberlee Clinthorne-Wong
Publisher/Date: Red Comet Press/2025
Suitable for Ages: 5-8
Themes/Topics: food, food history, nonfiction, multicultural, tacos, french fries, ice cream, pizza, journey, travel, geography, migration
Opening:
Recipes are created to delight and to nourish.
When a recipe travels, new minds help it flourish.
Popular foods can evolve over time.
Cooks add small changes that make them sublime.
Brief Synopsis: A history of several popular foods.
Links to Resources:
· Try making origami french fries;
· Learn how to make 29 different shapes of Italian pasta;
· Do you have a favorite food? Why do you like it? Do you know where it originated? If not, try to find out;
· Choose one or more of the featured foods to make at home for dinner or dessert;
· Create an “around the world” feast to share with family and friends.
Why I Like this Book:
Arranged into two-page spreads highlighting several foods, The Traveling Taco is filled with bite-sized facts sure to grab the attention of food-curious kids.
From al pastor tacos to french fries, ice cream, pasta and more, Wenjen describes what each food is, how it has changed since folks first ate it, where it comes from, and a cool fact. While the structure is repetitive, a plus for the targeted age range, the facts on each page are unique. Clinthorne-Wong’s colorful illustrations are unique, too, with some pages featuring more depictions of the food, like the pasta page, and some focused more on the people enjoying it, like the fish and chips and jerk chicken pages. A welcome mix of people of various skin tones, ages, and ethnicities appear throughout.
Whether read at home to young foodies or to encourage hesitant eaters to try new foods or read as part of a classroom exploration of foods and migration, I highly recommend The Traveling Taco.
A Note about Craft:
Wenjen, who many of us know as Pragmatic Mom and as a co-founder of Read Your World, shares unique facts about each of the highlighted foods but follows a repetitive structure that will appeal to young children. Starting each entry with a poem and featuring the same type of facts for each is a winning recipe for this fun and fact-filled exploration of a very kid-friendly topic.
This Perfect Picture Book entry is being added to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book list. Check out the other great picture books featured there!
Wander, Ponder, Write 