Picturebook Review:
The Sandwich Swap
by Her Majesty Queen Rania AlAbdullah & Kelly DiPucchio
illustrated by Tricia Tusa
9781423124849, Harper, $16.99, Pub. Date: April 2010
This delightful picturebook stole my heart, and I hope it will yours, as well.
Normally, I’m not a huge supporter of celebrity books; sorry, I know that sounds judgmental, but it’s the truth. This picturebook stands on its own two feet, even if it was written by royalty – and I have to admit the royalty is pretty darn cool. If you’re not aware of the incredible role model Her Majesty Queen Rania can be for young girls (and boys), please consider this your introduction to her, and her incredible humanitarian and cross-cultural connection work.
The story of The Sandwich Swap is simple: two little girls from different cultural backgrounds originally judge eachother’s lunchtime sandwiches as icky, then share them to the delight and tastebud education of all. Of course the text is well-written – just sparse enough to make a wonderful storytime picturebook, yet still very meaningful. The illustrations fill each page with the friendship of the two girls, and the sad state of affairs when their judgment of each other breaks them apart. The climactic food fight scene reminds me of Quentin Blake’s illustration style, and works perfectly to highlight the text and the flying food. The sweet ending could spark “sandwich swaps” in schools across the country, if encouraged!
Don’t miss this upcoming release, available in April. Clearly I should go back through my Spring catalogues so I can tell you all the fun things coming out sooner than this summer! Maybe a project for another day.
WildlyRead 
I'm with you on generally avoiding celebrity "authored" books, but this does sound good. And plenty of scope for some cooking with the kids afterwards 🙂
Wow, this looks great! I always love kids' books about food, and find Queen Rania intriguing.
Absolutely! I wish we had a kitchen in-store so I could have a food-themed storytime. Unfortunately, I'm a bit concerned about getting peanut butter out of the new carpet… 🙂
Wendy, I've been thinking of doing a post about kids cookbooks – do you have any favorites?