- Cheesie Mack is Not a Genius or Anything by Steve Cotler (Random House, 239 pages) $17.99

- Dessert First by Halle Durand (Atheneum, 153 pages) $18.99

- Brains for Lunch by K. A. Holt (Roaring Book Press, 87 pages) $18.50

- Lunch Lady and the Bake Sale Bandit by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Knopf, unpaged) $7.99

- The Candymakers by Wendy Mas (Little Brown, 453 pages) $18.99

- Bean Appétit by Shannon Payette Seip (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 192 pages) $18.50

Fran Ashdown

It is interesting to note that when people describe a book they really enjoyed they often will use a food-related analogy to indicate their pleasure.

You might hear, "I just ate it up" or "This book was a delicious read" or "It was yummy!" Here are some appetizing titles to put kids in the mood for some tasty summer reading. This summer, the theme of the province-wide summer reading club is Savour Each Word, so get out your mental fork and spoon and prepare to enjoy these books.

Why not start with an appetizer like Brains for Lunch by K. A. Holt, which describes itself as a zombie novel in haiku. This is great fare for boys who like "gross topics" and it's funny as well. Loeb, the hero, goes to middle school with his fellow zombies and some regular humans (Lifers) and some really unappetizing creatures called chupacabras. He is encouraged by the luscious school librarian to enter a haiku competition and if he wins he just might impress his ever-so-attractive classmate, Siobhan. Drawings by Gahan Wilson, the famous cartoonist of New Yorker fame, help step up the "gross" factor. Offer this to boys in grades 5 to 7.

Dessert First is a delectable offering for girls in the younger grades. The heroine, Dessert Schneider, is part of a restaurant-owning family and is therefore very aware of good food, especially the incredible double-decker chocolate bars made from her Grandma Reine's legendary recipe. She gets into big trouble with her parents when she devours an entire serving of these bars that are intended for a family celebration. Dessert has to figure out a way to redeem herself, as well as work out what she will give up for a charity drive at school. Charming. Similar to the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary or the Clementine books by Sara Pennypacker, this will appeal to grades 2 and 3.

And for a main course offering we have Cheesie Mack is Not a Genius or Anything. Cheesie, so nicknamed because his real name is Ronald Mack, has a wonderful skill: he remembers everything. Cheesie and his buddy Steve have a great summer dealing with a mysterious coin and a mouse plot gone wrong. In the process they make lots of BLART sandwiches! Give this to kids who have finished the Wimpy Kid series. Great for Grade 3 and 4 boys.

Wendy Mas has written a Roald Dahl-like book called The Candymakers in which four kids compete in a contest to design a new candy. One of the contestants just happens to be the son of the owner of the Life is Sweet factory, which is conducting the contest. Who will triumph and be crowned the new candymaker? Good reading for grades 4 to 6.

The literary meal would not be complete without a graphic novel. Try one of Krosoczka's Lunch Lady books and giggle at the antics of the school lunch lady who is a secret crime fighter. The latest offering in the series is Lunch Lady and the Bake Sale Bandit. Kids who have read all the Baby Mouse graphic novels will snap these right up.

And finally, in case kids want to create their own interesting food events, Bean Appetit promises in the book's subtitle that the book will provide "hip and healthy ways to have fun with food." This is like a craft and game book using food although there are lots of genuine recipes. Fun facts are also scattered throughout the book. Who knew that the tallest sandwich ever made was 15 metres tall! And I personally want to play the lickety-split oven mitt game!

The children's department of the library has many more food-related titles in both the fiction and non-fiction collection. Come on in this summer to join the Summer Reading Club and savour each word.

Fran Ashdown is the children's librarian at the Capilano branch of North Vancouver District Public Library. She devours books! For more library information, check out www.nvdpl.ca.