Our Little Kitchen

In her inspiring and socially conscious picture book Our Little Kitchen, Jillian Tamaki portrays the behind-the-scenes preparations by volunteers at a community kitchen. Depicted first are illustrations of people gathering food at their realistic and imperfect garden, replete with insect-riddled lettuce. Shown next are volunteers using wrinkled vegetables from the recesses of the fridge and day-old food from the bakery. The concept of acquiring food from a food bank is introduced. Once the food is prepared, a meal is served to members of the community. The kitchen is depicted not only as a place to eat but as a site of comfort and caring.

The illustrations are inviting and colourful, filling each page with many intriguing scenes that young children will enjoy examining in detail. Although it is classified as a picture book, the illustrative style has clearly been influenced by comic book artistry. Multicultural, multi-faith, and variously-shaped bodies are represented.

Our Little Kitchen is a vital addition to all children’s collections for it addresses two timely issues of interest to Canadians, that of food waste/food insecurity and community aid measures. In addition, these messages are conveyed in an age-appropriate manner without being preachy or elitist. The illustrations normalize the multicultural aspects of Canadian society, something which is vital in all currently-published children’s books.