Lentil Soup

Lentil Soup written and illustrated by Joe Lasker made its first appearance in 1977 and has been a favorite in many families since. This story, at first glance, is a rather simple story, but there is much to learn about relationships, expectations, and yes, even the days of the week. The book begins with a young farmer and his wife eating supper. This is a delicious supper; and the young husband compliments his wife on her fine cooking. Oh, if it could only have stopped at that point! But the young farmer and new husband made a most grievous error, one so very many young husbands make! After the compliment he added the fatal words, "This stew makes me think of my mother's lentil soup. I love lentil soup. I could eat lentil soup everyday, seven days a week." It would be fine if it had all ended even at that point too. But the new bride, wanted to please her husband, made lentil soup for his very next supper. Surprise, surprise, it was good, but not as good as his MOTHERS! Good grief, you want to reach into the book and shake the young man! The story goes on for an entire week. Each night the young wife tries another recipe for lentil soup, from ox tail, to fish, to pig's knuckles and even tries a witches' brew. Nothing and I mean nothing she prepared could equal the young lad's mother's lentil soup. Well you can see the problem and you can perhaps predict the outcome. I won't go into that here though, as that would constitute a spoiler, and I try to avoid those. This story is well written, easy to follow and actually teaches the little ones the number of each day of the week. It also teaches some valuable life lessons to young men when they finally get married. The art work in this on is great. The setting looks to be in old Europe if you consider the dress, homes and background. Each drawing is wonderfully executed and goes perfectly with the text. This is another of the old ones that is out of print now but should be saved. It is a rather timeless story and is the type of book and story that will stick to a kid for a life time. I suppose I have a special liking for this work, as I dearly love lentil soup myself, and can truly say that my wife's lentil soup is better than my mother's was! Now as to chicken and dumplings........ Don Blankenship The Ozarks