Tag Archives: food

Explore Chinatown in Your City!

Our latest picture book release, Ten Blocks to the Big Wok by Ying-Hwa Hu, takes readers on an exciting tour of Chinatown. As Mia and Uncle Eddie walk to the Big Wok restaurant, their journey is filled with all sorts of sights that embody Chinese culture, while also teaching the reader how to count in Chinese!

Did you know that there are a TON of Chinatowns around the world, including the United States? Each of these cultural epicenters bring joy and community to those who live in them and to those who visit them! Today, we’re going to be sharing a few of the places you can visit in Chinatowns all across the United States—just like Mia!

Yi (one)…er (two)…san(three)…let’s go!

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Out Now: Nacho’s Nachos: The Story Behind the World’s Favorite Snack

Nacho's NachosToday, we’re excited to celebrate the release of our new picture book biography, Nacho’s Nachos: The Story Behind the World’s Favorite Snack, written by Sandra Nickel and illustrated by Oliver Dominguez.

This delicious picture book biography sheds light on Ignacio Anaya, who is credited with inventing nachos! Ignacio, nicknamed Nacho, was born in Mexico in 1895, and became head waiter at the Victory Club in Piedras Negras, right across the Rio Grande river from Eagle Pass, Texas.

One afternoon in 1940, during the Victory Club’s quiet hours between lunch and dinner, a regular customer walked in with three friends. They wanted a snack–something new, something different. Nacho rushed to the kitchen and improvised with what was on hand: corn tortillas, cheddar cheese, and jalapeño peppers. In that moment, Nacho’s Special, the dish that later became known simply as “nachos,” was born!

Check out the Nacho’s Nachos Story Time Activity Kit and find activities to do with kids like:

  • Draw your dream nachos. What ingredients would you include
  • Create a banner declaring your love of nachos.
  • Follow Nacho Anaya’s original nachos recipe to get a taste of “Nacho’s Special”

Celebrate with us by eating nachos this week on Instagram. Post a photo of your nachos with the hashtag #nachosnachos and tag @leeandlow to be entered to win a copy of the book!

Listen to debut author Sandra Nickel talk about creating Nacho’s Nachos, and explore additional activities to go with the book at TeachingBook.net.

 

Celebrating 25 Books Over 25 Years: George Crum and the Saratoga Chip

lee & low 25th anniversaryLEE & LOW BOOKS celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and to recognize how far the company has come, we are featuring one title a week to see how it is being used across the country in classrooms and libraries today.

Today we are featuring one of our favorite titles: George Crum and the Saratoga Chip.  This fun story looks at the history behind everyone’s favorite snack food: the potato chip!  Continue reading

Roti Around the World

In this post, our marketing intern Keilin Huang dishes on rotis around the world:

In one of our new LEE & LOW books released this October, Drummer Boy of John John, a young Trinidadian boy named Winston dreams of being in the best band in the Carnival parade, so he can get some of the Roti King’s famous rotis. As Winston puts it, “Carnival jus’ ain’t right without a roti.”

Winston craves these “folded pancakes filled with chicken and secret herbs and spices,” but what exactly is a roti? The word roti means “bread” in Hindi, Urdu, most other North Indian languages, and Malay, and is essentially a round, flat, bread that is cooked on a griddle:

Roti image

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Angelo Sosa’s Chilled Edamame and Spring Pea Soup

guest bloggerCongratulations to our picture book Auntie Yang’s Great Soybean Picnic, which just received its THIRD starred Auntie Yang's Great Soybean Picnicreview! School Library Journal calls it “a stellar title that will rest comfortably next to acclaimed picture-book memoirs by Allen Say, Peter Sís, and Uri Shulevitz.”

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A Deep-Fried Holiday

I, among many, am celebrating Chanukkah this week. It’s a good holiday: candles, chocolate coins, and deep fried foods, especially latkes.

Mmmm, fried.
Mmmm, fried.
Most people know latkes as potato pancakes, slathered in apple sauce or sour cream, and they are both plentiful and delicious. But they’re not the only kind of latkes! Jews from around the Mediteranean have a tradition of spinach latkes, which are one of my favorites this time of year. I’ve had beet latkes and sweet potato latkes, and a friend has been telling me about apple latkes. If you can grate it or shred it, form it into a patty, and fry it in oil, it can be a latke.

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