Maybe fetal imprinting really does work. You can’t discount it after learning more about crackerjack cartoonist Lucy Knisley, whose mother embraced of gourmet meals and painting while little Lucy was still in utero. Be it nature, nurture or (likely) a mix of both, let’s just be thankful for the results: Relish: My Life in the Kitchen, a comic-book memoir that’s part coming-of-age tale, part travelogue, part cookbook. While Knisley is the progeny of foodies, Relish is what happens when M.F.K. Fisher and Archie have a baby.

A graduate of the School of the Art Institute (and occasional contributor to TOC Kids), Knisley mixes her many geographical influences into this delightful paperback. She chronicles her childhood in New York City and rural Hudson Valley; eventful trips to Mexico (more on that in a minute), Italy and Japan; and her gumption in manifesting gourmet experiences in the Windy City despite a college-kid budget. Through it all, she leavens her mix of amusing anecdotes and keen observations with deceptively simple artwork, accented by whimsical lettering and a gorgeous color palette. Occasionally, the pages appear overcrowded with text, but for the most part, the layouts form a perfectly proportioned feast. And each chapter ends with a cartooned recipe (chocolate-chip cookies, huevos rancheros, marinated lamb).

The book is easily suitable for the junior-high-and-up crowd (who might recall hearing about Knisley thanks to her awesomely ambitious Summharry, a distillation of the entire Harry Potter saga into one enormous comic-book poster). Her fun drawings and zippy prose might inspire kids to become a bit more adventurous, or at least more thoughtful, about what they eat. They’ll surely chuckle as they relate to the conflicts an adolescent Lucy has with her dad in Italy: Just to bug him, she buys McDonald’s for breakfast while he’s still asleep, then eats it in front of him as he's waking up. (Read an exclusive excerpt of that sequence, plus one of her recipes, below.)

The book is also accessible to middle schoolers, though parents might want to consider ahead of time one particular chapter. During a trip to Mexico, Lucy and her lifelong friend Drew, both on the verge of puberty, experience their own coming-of-age journeys: He discovers a treasure trove of Mexican pornography, while Lucy has her first period. It’s potentially risqué material but handled in a humorous PG manner—and there’s a great punchline at the end validating the wisdom of moms everywhere.

Knisley’s ecumenical take on eating won’t satisfy everyone. For example, she loves foie gras (she indulges guiltlessly, thanks to an encounter with geese and hornets practically torn from The Hunger Games) but she also enjoys Mickey D’s because “we all sometimes need a little comfort grease.” The only thing she won’t eat? Miracle Whip. Hey, you’ve got to draw a line somewhere.

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Knisley will make three Chicago appearances this month: Monday, April 8, at 826CHI in Wicker Park; Wednesday, April 10, at Challenger's Comics in Bucktown; and Thursday, April 11, at Women and Children First in Andersonville. Relish (published by First Second Books) is cover-priced at $18.

 

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen (excerpt)

In the not-so-distant past, I was working on an essay asking why there were no large-scale protests against school closings in Chicago. During the teacher strike, the Loop was clogged for nearly a week with red-shirted union members and their supporters, and I was curious to see if the same amount of passion could be whipped up around the latest wave in the ongoing crisis of Chicago Publi Schools. Well, at the first major action in response to the closing of 53 schools, hundreds of protestors started at Daley Plaza last night and marched to City Hall, where they staged a sit-in on LaSalle Street, leading to the Chicago Police Department issuing 127 tickets.

Wiggleworms, the Old Town School of Folk Music’s ridiculously popular singing, dancing and musicmaking class for tots, just introduced a Spanish-English bilingual edition called ¡Hola! Wiggleworms. Geared towards kids 6 months to 3 years old, the sessions feature instructors leading on various instruments, including guitar, percussion, jarana and fiddle. Meanwhile, kids get steeped in the culture of Spanish-speaking countries with a dance on the tarima, or wooden platform, and by playing the cajón, or box drum, as well as other instruments.

"We are amazed by the power music has to ignite many of the areas of the brain at once," says Erin Flynn, Wiggleworms' program coordinator. "Parents, too, get excited about how young children's language development often emerges through music and song first." The class is designed to create a sense of community through shared language and culture, too. "When I hear the music and lyrics ringing out from the Hola! Wiggleworms classroom and then hear the families and children speaking Spanish together in our hallways, it feels really important to our School and to Chicago," Flynn says.  

Kids as young as 6 months can sign up for ¡Hola! Wiggleworms before graduating on to ¡Hola! Instrumentos and then Piano en Español. For schedule and price information visit oldtownschool.org.

Well, file this under "Things that make this Monday better." The Chicago Children's Theatre and Redmoon are putting on a special performance of their upcoming play, The Elephant & the Whale, reserved for families with children on the autism spectrum. Before coming to the show, parents will receive a "social story," which includes a preview of the play, and walks kids through attending live theater. There will also be a quiet room for kids during the show, though by holding this special performance, the theater companies hope to create a "judgment-free" atmosphere.

The show happens on Saturday May 4 at 11am. Tickets are $31 for adults, and $21 for kids 16 and under, and more information is on the performance's site.