Lunchbox express by George Georgievski

Plum, 2019. ISBN: 9781760784904.
(Age: 9 - Adult) Recommended. The cover promises 'healthy kids' lunches in 5 minutes' and the book delivers 30 days of kids' lunchboxes, beautifully illustrated with full page pictures of the featured lunches. There is something here for even the most fastidious eater, including some bonus adult lunchboxes that will prove to be really useful as well as recipes for International Fridays.
Right from the helpful Contents page, the reader is guided through this useful book starting with tools of the trade that will be needed to make the lunches visually appealing, including a melon baller and a ravioli cutter to make shapes, as well as other more common tools like a chef's knife and veggie peeler. The $50 shopping list covers 2 children's lunches for one week and ensures that all the necessary ingredients are available for the lunches. Using photos of the Bento-style lunchboxes to contain the food the author has shown what delicious lunches can be made in just 5 minutes. There is also a section of easy to follow recipes for things like breakfast muffins and vegetable doughnuts and a handy index finishes off a worthwhile book.
The colourful illustrations make this a stand-out recipe book that is sure to inspire people to make truly mouth-watering lunches.
Pat Pledger