A tangled tale of tagliatelle by Yves Stening
Ill. by Nigel Buchanan. Dinner Detectives Case 102. Creative
Books, 2017. ISBN 978064800871
(Ages: 5-8) Yves Stening and Nigel Buchanan's A Tangled Tale of
Tagliatelle is the second picture book in the Dinner
Detectives series which explores the origins of pasta.
Clementine and her brother Aksel meet their new football loving
neighbour Sophia and are introduced to delicious Italian food made
by Sophia's papa. When Sophia asks about the origins of Bolognese
sauce it is time for the dinner detectives to begin their next
culinary adventure in Italy.
Buchanan's colourful graphic designs add fun and liveliness to the
easy to read text. The bird's eye view map of Italy is dressed in a
boot, the children race chariots in the Colosseum passing a fierce
lion and singing Roman statues introduce different types of pasta.
Both historical information and cooking facts make this an
interesting and entertaining picture book. The detectives discover
that Bolognese sauce comes from Bologna and explore with Marco Polo
as he travels across Asia to meet Chinese emperor Kublai Khan. Back
in Italy Chinese noodles are transformed into hundreds of pasta
shapes and sizes.
Clementine, Aksel and Sophia find out the meanings behind some of
the popular pasta shapes, vermicelli like little worms, farfalle are
butterflies and ombelico are belly buttons.
Stening includes a recipe for tagliatelle al ragu with handmade
pasta and tips for little cooks to make with some adult help.A
Tangled Tale of Tagliatelle is an engaging story exploring all
things pasta, the history and invention of different types and
sizes. A fun picture book for young readers who enjoy cooking.
Rhyllis Bignell