The Superheroes on Your Plate

A younger audience will enjoy the bright colourful food characters and illustrations and interesting text colours and fonts but will find that many of the concepts introduced are a little complex and beyond their level. Even an older audience will require discussion in order to grasp some of the abstract ideas presented in the book, and it could therefore be used as a fantastic conversation starter around wholefoods and food groups. Alternatively, at a more basic level, the book can be enjoyed for its visual presentation of familiar foods including fruit, vegetables, grains, proteins etc.

The adult reading the book will enjoy the relevance of the vocabulary used in relation to individual foods, eg "Walnut shells out a compliment" and "Beef cuts in to stake claim for ..." although it is unlikely that children will appreciate this quite as much. There's plenty of sophisticated vocabulary throughout, to challenge young children, such as 'nutritious', 'smugly', 'parched' and 'companion'.

In order to maximise the value of this book, I would recommend the adult reading it prior to sharing it with children so that they can prepare themselves for discussions that may arise.

This will be one of the most visually appealing books in our non-fiction nutrition section. It looks exactly like a picture book, yet contains complex, abstract concepts.

Title: The Superheroes on Your Plate

Author: TansyBoggon

Illustrator: Emma Hay

Publisher: Shawline Publishing Group

ISBN: 978-19225-9476-1

RRP: $19.95

Format: Paperback

Publication: November 2021

Ages: 3 – 7 years

Themes: Healthy eating, food groups, wholefoods

Do you have any advisory warnings for this book? No

Would this book work as a read aloud? Yes, provided time is given to stop and discuss the information given, rather than reading it cover to cover without stopping

Reviewer: Nadine Molloy, Library Assistant, Remarkables Primary School, Queenstown

How are you recommending this book? Recommended

Opening sentence: In a contest for the title of THE SUPERHERO ON YOUR PLATE, every food at the dinner table wants to be the WINNER.

You can buy this book here