Review: Food or Friend?

Have you ever heard of a cabbage butterfly? It would have to look like a cabbage, right?

What about a crab apple? That’s a type of crab, isn’t it? 

Do dragon fruits have wings? 

Is a kiwi a fruit or a bird? Food or a friend?

In this fun and funny picture book, author/Illustrator Rebel Challenger explores a range of things that sound like they should be something, but are, in fact, definitely not.

A cabbage butterfly doesn’t look anything like a cabbage. A crab apple is a type of apple rather than a type of crab. Dragon fruits do not have wings (but their bright pink and green colouring and scaly exterior perhaps reminds people of dragons). And a kiwi is a bird, unless it has ‘fruit’ at the end of it, in which case it’s a piece of fruit.

With vibrant colourful illustrations, Food or Friend? is an engaging laugh and half that also teaches kids about the gloriousness (and sometimes absurdity) of language and how we name things.

At the back of the book, there is a brilliant page that explains why these foods and friends are called what they’re called, and where some of their peculiar names have come from.

If you’re looking for a fun book to read to a crowd and start a conversation about language, this is a perfect choice. With brilliant repetition throughout, it’s a book kids can interact with, and I predict loads of loud and engaging story times stemming from this little gem.

Make sure you check out the teachers notes for this one from Larrikin House. They’ve got loads of fun activities to get you thinking about food, friends and language!

Title: Food or Friend?
Author/Illustrator: Rebel Challenger 
Publisher: Larrikin House, $24.99
Publication Date: 1 September 2021
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781922503367
For ages: 3 - 6 
Type: Picture Book