Cheese!

By Felice Arena & Beatrice Cerocchi

Reviewed by Mia Macrossan

Felice Arena is well known as an actor, speaker, TV presenter and playwright. He has written many award winning books including the Specky Magee series, the historical novels  Fearless Frederic, The Boy and the Spy and A Great Escape, which was shortlisted in the inaugural 2021 Book Links historical award,  as was The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan in 2023.

He is a versatile writer known for the warmth, humour and insight evident in his work.  The totally delightful Pasta!, a rhyming celebration of Italian food and a tribute to his own Italian heritage is a companion to his latest picture book Cheese! He has again teamed up with Beatrice Cerocchi, an illustrator and architect based in Rome, Italy, who has been awarded the 2017 AOI World Illustration award and the 2018 Bologna Children’s Book Fair award.

Cheese! is not limited to Italy but travels all over the world to highlight some of humanity’s favourite comestibles. The French cheeses are accompanied by a baguette and a picture of the Eiffel Tower. There are Greek, Italian (of course) and Swiss cheeses, plus some colourful English Red Leicester, Sage Derby and Shropshire Blue. He has even listed some smelly ones – Limburger, Stilton, Époisses and Stinking Bishop, ( I’ve only had the first two).

The text is vibrant and fun with rhymes and repetition to keep the readers amused and engaged. There are so many delicious sounds to try out even if you are not quite sure how to say them! Beatrice has outdone herself with bright colours and many stylised full page action pages. There is a charming mouse fully engaged in exploring all the cheeses on almost every page, someone to look out for.

If you are looking for a fun family activity you could go on a quest to try out all the cheeses in this book. It is quite a long list.  Obviously useful for teaching about foods but an enjoyable romp through a popular food for everyone.

Affirm Press 2024

Felice Arena