When chill winds blow, what perks appetites and spirits more than a steaming bowl of soup? With these books, you can have your soup — and read it too! Those wishing to make their own are in luck. Easy-to-follow recipes are often included. As these tales testify, soup can link families and heritage, connect community and inspire your own chopping and stirring. But most delectably, it can soothe and nourish when served for supper on a winter evening.
Tots to age 7
“Chicken Soup with Rice”
By Maurice Sendak
HarperCollins, 1962, $9.95 paperback
As this exuberant classic demonstrates, chicken soup is the perfect dinner for any season — and for more than 64 years. By turns rollicking, absurd and deliciously down-to-earth, this book follows an adventurous child and the titular dish for 12 months. The lively rhymes and refrain, brilliantly crafted by the late Maurice Sendak, simultaneously tickle tongues, tummies and funny bones. Youngsters begin the year with “slipping on the sliding ice,” spend September riding down the” chicken soupy Nile” and close with a Christmas tree “baubled and bangled” with soup bowls. What fun!
“Quill Soup: A Stone Soup Story”
By Alan Durant
Illustrated by Dale Blankenaar
Charlesbridge, 2020, $16.99
Cultures around the world have adapted the folktale about a pot of boiling water, a stone and the resulting feast to reflect their own unique traditions. This vibrant version, set in South Africa, substitutes quills for the original stone. It follows Noko, a tired traveler, who is denied food when he asks in a small village. The resourceful porcupine then requests a pot of water and adds a few quills. With each taste, he declares the need for a specific item — carrot, beans — which the other animals rush to procure. At the end, Noko shares the flavorful soup with his new, grateful friends.
“Freedom Soup”
By Tami Charles
Illustrated by Jacqueline Alcantara
Candlewick, 2019, $16.99
It’s New Year’s Day, and Belle and her grandmother, in a snowy American city, are steaming something that represents more than a change in calendar. As pumpkin, herbs and other ingredients dance in the big pot, Ti Gran shares the story behind Freedom Soup. It recognizes the hard-won freedom of the enslaved people of Haiti, who rebelled against their European oppressors. In 1803, after 12 bloody years, slavery was abolished, and they claimed independence for their island nation. To this day, Haitians worldwide celebrate Jan. 1 as their Independence Day, with bowls of this fragrant soup.
Preteens
“Mr. Lepron’s Mystery Soup”
By Giovanna Zoboli
Translated from the Italian by Denise Muir
Illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio
Candlewick Studio, 2024, $18.99
This beautifully illustrated fable explores the tension between art and commerce, well-being and wealth. Mr. Lepron, a benevolent hare, loves making tasty soups for his large family. With their help, he gathers fresh vegetables, tosses them into a bubbling pot, and adds a pinch of salt. Then he takes a nap, dreaming of “magical spoons” and “secret gardens growing mysterious vegetables.” Upon awakening, he happily serves his creation to appreciative family, animal neighbors, a local child and even the baker. But others clamor for a taste, and so he opens a factory “where soup will be made around the clock.” The demand grows, from Spain to the South Pole, and soon Mr. Lepron is weighted with work. His dreams fill with worry and fear: garden-destroying hailstorms, green soup floods, enormous, gaping mouths. Customers begin to complain — his soup is bland and overpriced. What should he do? Mr. Lepron closes the factory and returns to his simpler life with loved ones. And over time, he begins to dream, once more, of the joy experienced in the process of creating and giving. This wise cautionary tale seems ripe for our anxious times. It honors the transformation of the ordinary into the sublime, not through acclaim and riches but through contentment and care.
“Blue Moon Soup”
By Gary Goss
Illustrated by Jane Dyer
Sky Pony Press, 2021, $14.99 paperback
Thanks to Sky Pony Press, this 25-year-old classic is available once again. Recipes by Chef Gary Goss pair delightfully with artist Jane Dyer’s whimsical watercolors. Who can resist the lure of dancing celery or of the fancifully named Best Buddy Soup? Thirty recipes feature yummy soups and related snacks for all seasons.
Teens
“Soup Broth Bread”
By Rachel Allen
Michael Joseph/PRH, 2022, $35
Looking for a cookbook more substantive than the usual glossily photographed but slim offerings? I’m a big fan of Irish chef Rachel Allen. Here, she starts with the basics — essential equipment — but then moves quickly to recipes for soups both familiar (tomato basil) and from other countries (Hungarian goulash, Japanese chicken and udon noodle broth). And what makes the perfect accompaniment? Why, fresh bread, course! Allen includes a hefty section on yeast breads but also the scones, muffins and soda breads especially geared for budding bakers.
Mary Quattlebaum lives in Washington, D.C. and is the author of 30 award-winning children’s books, most recently Queen Elizabeth II, an early reader biography. She teaches in the graduate program in writing for children at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, writes frequently for The Washington Post and is a popular school and conference speaker. maryquattlebaum.com
