Corn

by Kim Etingoff

Overview

Do you like corn on the cob? What about popcorn? How about tortilla chips, cornbread, and cornflakes? You've probably eaten these foods made from corn-but you might be surprised to discover you eat a lot more corn than you think. Corn is also hidden in many other kinds of food, even in things like meat and applesauce. Corn feeds the world in lots of ways. Discover the story of your food-where it was grown, who grows it, and how it gets to your plate.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781422227428
Publisher:	Mason Crest, an Imprint of National Highlight
Publication date:	09/28/2013
Series:	Feeding the World Series
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	7.70(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

Table of Contents

1 Where Does Corn Come From? 7

2 The History of Corn 15

3 Who Grows the Corn We Eat? 23

4 How Is Corn Grown? 27

5 How Does Corn Get to Your Plate? 37

Words to Know 45

Find Out More 46

Index 47

About the Author & Picture Credits 48

Editorial Reviews

Books in the “Feeding the World” series encourage readers to think deeply about where their food comes from. This book points out that almost all of the food we eat comes from the earth. After explaining where corn comes from, there is an interesting section presenting the history of corn, which originated in Central America and Mexico. Over the centuries, corn has been hybridized by selectively replanting the plants with the largest seeds. Corn is easy to grow and is used to produce a lot of different foods. It also became a staple crop, meaning that people ate it daily with nearly every meal. Text boxes offer readers a Native American legend and the steps for growing corn. There is a chapter describing who grows the corn and another about how it grows and is harvested. The final chapter details the steps taken to get the fresh corn to market as well as the various ways that corn is processed (dried, milled and converted into fructose). Corn is used extensively as animal feed. There is an index as well as a few sentences about the author. Words highlighted in red throughout the text can be found in the “Words to Know” section, with their deinfitions, at the end of the book along with online and book resources (which are not particularly current). The content in this series is generally slight and repetitive. However, the layout is appealing and there are excellent full color photographs, but these qualities are not sufficient to make this a recommended book or series. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot; Ages 7 to 10.

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot