A Moose Boosh: A Few Choice Words About Food

In his first book as both author and artist, Larkin assembles more than 40 food-themed poems that range from the political to the personal, pairing them with photographs that have digital doodles superimposed on them. Several poems take aim at urban food deserts, fast food, or modified food: a riff on Dr. Seuss is titled “Would You Eat Green Eggs with Dye,” while another entry reads, “[I]f the corn is born in a lab/ instead of on crop land,/ and raised by lab coats/ instead of farm hands,/ is it corn at all?” (opposite the poem, an ear of corn is shown surrounded by mathematical equations and gobbledygook). But Larkin doesn’t ignore the sillier or joyful side of food, either (“Sometimes.../ Chicken tastes/ sooo good, you may/ think that they are magical,” opens one poem), and his sometimes whimsical, sometimes provocative artwork gives the poems added dimension and depth. Ages 10–up. (Oct.)