Reviews

Born Hungry: Julia Child Becomes the French Chef by Sarah Green, Alex Prud'homme

lattelibrarian's review

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Prud'homme and Green's picture book, Born Hungry, cooks up a vivacious image of Chef Julia Child's life. Though the focus is on her cooking, they do not shy away from her previous work as a clerk typist for the Office of Strategic Services, nor her scientific experiments to create a recipe for shark repellant.

With beautiful illustrations that focus on food and the diverse cultures in which Julia lived, Green underscores the importance of ingredients and creating recipes from the root of food's source: the people. Better, still, is the careful attention to Julia Child's height against her husband and other men. Not only did she forge her way in a male-dominated field, she quite literally towered over them in prowess and physicality!

Boasting bold colors and dense descriptions, this is a wonderful book for the child who wants to delve into the world of culinary arts. And for parents, it's a great reminder that what one is remembered for often comes later in life.

molly_dettmann's review

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5.0

I LOVED this! I know who Julia Child is, but hadn’t dove into her biopic or anything else about her, but this was a really nice children’s biography with delightful artwork. I felt like I got a better sense of Julia’s life and contributions to the cooking world (and the WW2 stuff she did was fascinating). A must-read.

black_flamed_candle_b00ks's review

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informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.5

I rate this book 4.5/5 stars. ⭐️ 
I absolutely adore the illustrations! I learnt along the way about Julia Child, way more than I ever knew before. Granted this is designed as a children’s book, however teens and adults alike have lots to learn! I love Sarah Green’s illustrations! I believe they’re drawn with oil pastels but I could be wrong; regardless they make a great reference if you like to draw especially with mediums such as oil pastels. I look forward to using this book in the future as reference to help me further my art. Absolutely stunning illustrations, I can’t stop raving about them!

msgabbythelibrarian's review

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4.0

I had no idea that in Julia Child's career at the OSS that she helped create shark repellant! That's cool!

Reading this book while hungry is not fully advisable however. It made me want to eat some pomme frities and some beouf bourguinon. French food is good...mostly. And Julia Child made cooking exciting to the everyman and woman! While I don't love "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" personally, I love what Julia Child brought to the craft.

This book does suffer from the lack of a pronunciation guide.

missprint_'s review

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3.0

Good. Not particularly groundbreaking but maybe that's okay? The focus was more on Julia and her cooking than on her trailblazing imo. I like how soft the artwork is and the bright colors but also it was definitely stylized which is interesting for a figure like Julia who is so well known visually.

Back mater includes author's note, "essential Julia" breaking down books, TV shows, Podcasts, and websites to check out plus exhibits, bibliography, and text and picture credits. Recipe for French scrambled eggs.

robisreading's review

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informative inspiring medium-paced

thenovelbook's review

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5.0

Though this is a book written for children, it's guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of any food-loving adult as well.

The short but extremely intriguing overview of Julia Child's life is complemented by charming illustrations. (If a reader isn't too familiar with her biography, there will be a few surprises in store as well. Including sharks!)

The description of Julia's life-changing meal at a French restaurant is lovingly described, and the facial expressions depicted by the illustrator convey warm emotion throughout the book. (The total effect is to make you very hungry!) The fact that the author was personally acquainted with Julia and her husband makes for an intimate, heartfelt style.

This book will likely whet your appetite to learn more about Julia Child's life and cooking. That's why it's so nice that at the back are listed websites, TV shows, and books to find out more.

There's also a simple recipe for scrambled eggs that children can try. Though it's not complex, it is written in a way to help them really pay attention to the changes that are taking place in food while it cooks.

A delightful little book for either children or adults!

Thanks to NetGalley and Astra Publishing House for my digital review copy!

skeinsinthestacks's review

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informative fast-paced

3.75

ljrinaldi's review

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4.0

There are many picture books about women who were famous in their day, but might not be known to people now. Although I own "The Art of French cooking" by Julia Child, I was a little too young, at the time, to have watched her cooking programs. I did however watch the movie Julie and Julia, which used part of the memoir she was writing with her great nephew, just before she died, as the source for many of the Julia scenes.

And it is this great nephew who has written this picture book, a very brief history of what made Julia Child tick. How, as the title says, she was born hungry, and spent her life trying to find the food that appealed to her, and then discover how to cook it.

Simple, and to the point, with a bonus recipe at the back, as well as a little more explanation on Julia Child.

Delightful book.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

libraryrobin's review

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3.0

The woman who brought gourmet cooking to the masses couldn't cook but loved food. She studied, practiced, and enthusiastically shared her epicurean love with the world, creating generations of foodies.
Entertaining and upbeat biography.