What's in Your Chicken Nugget?

April 1, 2012

Gr 2-4-Readers are introduced to the production of over-processed, high-calorie, preservative-filled fast foods as well as their historical origins, preparation, and ingredients in these focused volumes. Sullivan discusses the health risks of overeating and the need to monitor calorie input and output, the differences between natural and artificial preservatives, and how to read nutrition fact labels. Suggestions for healthier versions of the featured foods (such as topping a hot dog with vegetables or using whole-wheat buns for hamburgers) are included. Clean, captioned, color photos break up the texts. With a message that fast food is best enjoyed in moderation, these no-nonsense titles will get kids thinking before they bite.

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2012
Grades 3-5 Tasting good does not always mean a food is good for us, Sullivan writes. That could very well introduce any volume in the What's in Your Fast Food? series, which takes on hot dogs, pizza, soda, and more. The invention of the chicken nugget is attributed to Robert Baker in the 1950s, though it wasn't until the 1983 McDonald's menu item that the dish caught on. Missing from the photos of yummy-looking nuggets and exercising kids are the infamous Internet shots of the pink goo that goes into making nuggets; the closest things we get are a sterile shot of a chicken-processing plant in China and a description of how machines mash up parts and push them through a strainer to create a soft paste. The overall message, though, is clear. Deep-frying, preservatives, cholesterol: bad. Learning to read nutrition labels: good.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)