• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

Key Selling Points

• Showcases a range of STEM topics, such as engineering design, agriculture and biology, as well as social studies, geography and history.
• Each topic is presented through bite-sized stories about food, covering the Egyptian Pyramid builders, the ancient Roman army, World War II paratroopers, Mars astronauts and more.
• Focuses on themes of resourcefulness, innovation, resilience and cooperation, offering many specific, positive examples of humans working together to solve problems and get a meal on the table.
• This book is timely, as it discusses the current inequities in access to food as well as the global issue of food waste. As well, it considers the future of food in light of the climate crisis and a growing population, and highlights both innovative technologies and ideas from our past that might help us in the future, such as robotics and sensing, indoor vertical farms, lab-cultured meat, seaweed farming and the eating of insects.
• Asks readers to think critically about food, has links to numerous curriculum themes and has been vetted by experts in food security, agriculture, history and environmental studies.
• The author is an established writer of nonfiction titles for young people, including Cities, the award-winning Fresh Air, Clean Water and Design Like Nature, all published by Orca.

Megan Clendenan has worked for women's rights, mental health and youth empowerment nonprofits as well as for an environmental law group, which is when she realized for the first time that the court system could be a way to help protect human health from pollution and toxic chemicals. She is the co-author of Design Like Nature, part of the Orca Footprints series, and the author of Offbeat, a novel for young readers. Megan lives in North Vancouver, British Columbia, with her family.

Megan Clendenan's profile page

Meegan Lim is an illustrator and arts facilitator striving to nurture community growth and healing through visual arts. She holds a bachelor of design and illustration from OCAD University. Her work primarily focuses on the intersections of food and cultural identity, manifesting through detailed gouache illustrations, digital paintings and risograph zines. Her illustrations have been featured in Chatelaine, Eater, Broken Pencil Magazine and the book What We Talk About When We Talk About Dumplings. Meegan lives in Brampton, Ontario.

Meegan Lim's profile page

“Appealing and engaging…Reveals how the act of sharing food and eating together promotes well-being and a greater sense of cooperation and community…Useful information for students interested in environmental activism or in STEM topics.”

Booklist