Reviews for the Everybody... series

Everybody Cooks Rice
Grades K-4-- Carrie travels from one house to another, looking for her brother at dinnertime. Each family invites her in for a taste of what they are cooking; thus, she samples the ethnic diversity of her neighborhood through the rice dishes they prepare. At home, her own Italian family is indulging in risi e bisi . All the recipes are included at the end of the book. Thornton's illustrations have that flat, depth less look of primitive art. Colors are strong and brilliant primaries with very little black shading. The geometric forms displayed in the multi hued houses of the street are especially nice. Yes, everybody cooks rice, and everybody eats rice--these commonalities do bring us together, a lesson worth repeating again and again. --Booklist

"Nifty neighborhood- nifty book"- NY Times Review of Books MAR 1991

Everybody Bakes Bread
Grades K-4-In this rainy-day story Carrie is sent out into her multiethnic neighborhood to borrow a three-handled rolling pin. She has a fine time visiting the neighbors, eating seven kinds of bread, and finding enough friends for a kick ball game after the rain stops. She samples coconut bread from Barbados, chapatis from India, corn bread from South Carolina, pocket bread from Lebanon, challah from the Jewish "old country," pupusa from El Salvador, and braided bread from Italy. Recipes are included. Thornton's richly colored, softly realistic illustrations show the diversity of age and nationality, lifestyles, and staple foods of this friendly neighborhood.-Booklist

Everybody Bakes Bread American Library Association "Pick of the List" in 1997

Everybody Serves Soup  
Dooley (Everybody Bakes Bread, 1996, etc.) dishes up another premise for Carrie to eat her way around her multicultural neighborhood. Today is a snow day at school and Christmas approaches. Carrie is tapped out after buying gifts for everybody except Mom, who always wants "anything that comes from your heart." She hopes to earn money by shoveling snow. But...recipes pour in along with Mark's mom's corn chowder, Darlene's grand aunt's oxtail soup, and Wendy's mom's miso soup. Recipes, however, don't buy gifts, and at the end of the day Carrie has earned only ten dollars from Dad. That and Mrs. Max's idea are enough to buy Mom's gift—a blank book in which Carrie can write her newfound recipes. Preparing for Hanukkah, Mrs. Max reminds Carrie that "good soup with a friend warms more than the body." The recipes included give readers an opportunity to test that notion in a book more cookery than fiction, more work-a-day than holiday. (Picture book. 5-8) - Booklist

Everybody Brings Noodles
 A neighborhood celebrates America's birthday by sharing its ethnic dishes in this latest of the Everybody series (Everybody Serves Soup, 2000, etc.). When Carrie hatches the idea of a block party for the Fourth of July, she has no idea of the work it will involve. On the day of the party, she clutches her list as she crosses off each item.Fortunately for Carrie, all the dishes contain her favorite-noodles....As Carrie moves through the neighborhood, readers can see through her interactions that the young girl is instrumental in bringing the community together. In fact, though she is disappointed not to be taking part in the talent show, she is pleasantly surprised when she is recognized in this capacity by the organizer of the talent show. Dooley's work is a combination of a celebration of the diversity that makes America unique, and a recipe book. Thornton's illustrations are filled with color and life, and feature the people and places found in his own hometown.
Add it to the menu.
(Picture book. 4-8)
--Kirkus Reviews 2002

more to come...