Eat, Think, and Grow With One Book, One Chicago
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is a work of nonfiction that tells the story of the year Barbara Kingsolver and her family chose to live on local food, grown or raised in their neighborhood or by themselves. Learn how their lives changed as a result.
I am excited about this year's book selection. Having grown up in a family where my mom planted a large garden every year and food was eaten fresh, frozen, or canned, I can't wait to read about the author's and her family's experiences.
OBOC Events
An exciting lineup of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle book discussions, author events, culinary tours, film screenings, and talks teaching the basics of beekeeping, beer brewing, and coffee roasting is under way, with more events to be added. All events are free! Visit the OBOC Events page to get the most up-to-date list of upcoming events.
Chicago historian and urbanologist Max Grinnell will lead the one-hour culinary walking tours. My husband and I attended one of his OBOC walking tours last year, and it was excellent! Two of the upcoming tours are based on books. Written in 1931, John Drury's Dining in Chicago is the basis for the Tuesday, October 4, tour. The Tuesday, November 1, tour takes a look back at Patricia Bronté's 1952 Vittles and Vice: An Extraordinary Guide to What's Cooking on Chicago's Near North Side. If you would like to read these books, both can be found at the Chicago Public Library (CPL). Note: Dining in Chicago is for in-library use only.
In addition to reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I am also looking forward to reading some of the recommended theme-related books (see the lists below). Some of the authors are scheduled to participate in OBOC events. Use the Author Events filter feature to find upcoming event details.
Further Reading
If you would like to learn more about food and enjoy nonfiction, consider one or more of these OBOC-recommended titles:
- Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen: A Culinary View of Lincoln's Life and Times by Rae Katherine Eighmey
- American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America by Michelle Obama
- Born With a Junk Food Deficiency: How Flaks, Quacks, and Hacks Pimp the Public Health by Martha Rosenberg
- Chicago's Homegrown Cookbook: Favorite Recipes From Top Chefs and Restaurants by Heather Lalley
- The Color of Food: Stories of Race, Resilience and Farming by Natasha Bowens
- Eat More Better: How to Make Every Bite More Delicious by Dan Pashman
- The Eli's Cheesecake Cookbook: Remarkable Recipes From a Chicago Legend by Maureen Schulman
- Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser
- Food Swap: Specialty Recipes for Bartering, Sharing & Giving–Including the World's Best Salted Caramel Sauce by Emily Paster
- From the Ground Up: A Food Grower's Education in Life, Love, and the Movement That's Changing the Nation by Jeanne Nolan
- Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4/Day by Leanne Brown
- The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities by Will Allen
- Grandbaby Cakes: Modern Recipes, Vintage Charm, Soulful Memories by Jocelyn Delk Adams
- How Bad Are Bananas?: The Carbon Footprint of Everything by Mike Berners-Lee
- Ina's Kitchen: Memories and Recipes From the Breakfast Queen by Ina Pinkney
- Indian for Everyone: The Home Cook's Guide to Traditional Favorites by Anupy Singla
- My Garden (Book) by Jamaica Kincaid
- My Halal Kitchen: Global Recipes, Cooking Tips, Lifestyle Inspiration by Yvonne M. Maffei
- The New Midwestern Table: 200 Heartland Recipes by Amy Thielen
- Oil and Honey: The Education of an Unlikely Activist by Bill McKibben
- The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
- On the Noodle Road: From Beijing to Rome, With Love and Pasta by Jen Lin-Liu
- Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley
- Somethingtofoodabout: Exploring Creativity With Innovative Chefs by Questlove
- Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time by Adrian Miller
- Voracious: A Hungry Reader Cooks Her Way Through Great Books by Cara Nicoletti
If you are interested in food-themed fiction, check out the following:
- The Beekeeper's Ball by Susan Wiggs
- Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love by Lara Vapnyar
- Chocolat: A Novel by Joanne Harris
- Delicious!: A Novel by Ruth Reichl
- Edible Stories: A Novel in Sixteen Parts by Mark Kurlansky
- The Girls' Guide to Love and Supper Clubs by Dana Bate
- Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
- Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments, With Recipes, Romance, and Home Remedies by Laura Esquivel
- The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
- Queen Sugar: A Novel by Natalie Baszile
More Fun Stuff!
CHIRP Radio has put together a playlist featuring food-themed music.
Get the kids involved! For younger kids, the CPL staff recommends the following:
- Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
- City Green by DyAnne DiSalvo
- Farm by Elisha Cooper
- First Garden: The White House Garden and How It Grew by Robbin Gourley
- The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
- Grow! Raise! Catch!: How We Get Our Food by Shelley Rotner
- Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert
- Moo by Sharon Creech
- Otis by Loren Long
- Pick a Circle, Gather Squares: A Fall Harvest of Shapes by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky
- Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
- Potatoes on Rooftops: Farming in the City by Hadley Dyer
- Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
- And Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano
- The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kadohata
- Tokyo Digs a Garden by Jon-Erik Lappano
- Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner
- Urban Farming by Rebecca Rissman
- Urban Gardening by Carol Hand
- The Young Chef: Recipes and Techniques for Kids Who Love to Cook by Mark Ainsworth
For teens, the CPL staff recommends these books:
- A La Carte by Tanita S. Davis
- The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan
- Burger Wuss by M. T. Anderson
- Eat Fresh Food: Awesome Recipes for Teen Chefs by Rozanne Gold
- The Espressologist: A Novel by Kristina Springer
- Farm Together Now: A Portrait of People, Places, and Ideas for a New Food Movement by Amy Franceschini and Daniel Tucker
- From Where I Watch You by Shannon Grogan
- The Green Teen Cookbook: Recipes for All Seasons written by teens, for teens
- Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet by Sherri L. Smith
- Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel
- Food Wars!: Shokugeki No Soma. Volume 1 by Yuto Tsukuda
- I Garden: Urban Style by Reggie Solomon
- Incredible Edibles: 43 Fun Things to Grow in the City by Sonia Day
- Kitchen Princess Omnibus, Volume 1 by Miyuki Kobayashi
- Peanut by Ayun Halliday
- Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley
- Taste Test by Kelly Fiore
- A Teen Guide to Eco-Gardening, Food, and Cooking by Jen Green
To learn more, please visit OBOC online.