What You Never Knew about Fingers, Forks, & Chopsticks

by Patricia Lauber

Book Overview

Stone Age people invented the first knives...and also the first spoons.In the Middle Ages the first books of manners told readers to wipe their greasy fingers on the tablecloth. And in 1669 King Louis XIV ordered that table knives should have rounded ends because there'd been too many stabbings.InWhat You Never Knew About Fingers, Forks, & Chopsticks,Patricia Lauber and John Manders serve up a hilarious and informative look at how ways of eating and manners have changed through the ages. This well-researched tour of social history makes the subject of how we eat more fascinating and fun than you ever imagined it could be.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689804792
• ISBN13: 9780689804793
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 9.8" x 10.4"
• Age Range: 1 year and up
• Grade Range: Grade 1 and higher

Customer Reviews

Taught me a thing or two!

I did not realize the history of eating utensils was so interesting. I did become intrigued when I lived in Thailand and learned to eat their way with a fork and spoon or watched Europeans with their forks and knives. I am still not good at eating sticky rice and accompanying dishes with my hand. My favorite situation was watching Thais describe the way Chinese eat with chopsticks. The Thai think that the way Chinese eat is barbaric. Little do they know that most Americans think they eat with chopsticks too!

Gave my kids a new appreciation for utensils

This book takes a humorous, illustrated look at the history of eating habits. It educates, while simultaneously poking fun at ancient and modern affectations associated with the dinner table. It starts and ends with a primitive family who are just beginning to make use of fire. It gives brief descriptions of eating customs and utensils in different cultures over the centuries. The evolving dining and feasting customs of medeval Europe are particularly amusing. Children will have a new appreciation for their spoons, knives and even forks after reading the author's amusing take on their introduction into our popular use. This is a book that was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone in our family--from the six-year-old to the adults.