The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt

Frankly, I set myself up for disappointment with this book. Natalie Babbitt’s other book, Tuck Everlasting, was one of the most powerful and beautifully-written books that I’ve ever read. Therefore my expectations were pretty high for The Search for Delicious and it couldn’t quite live up to them. It seemed a little too contrived and silly (a whole kingdom going to war over favorite foods? A mermaid saves the day?) And don’t think that I found it hard to swallow because I disdain fairy tales. I was raised on them and have read them to my kids with zeal. But my tastes run more to Edith Nesbit (The Book of Dragons) and George MacDonald (The Light Princess and the The Princess and Curdie stories) because of the British wit, good writing and layers of meaning.

By the way, if you’ve only seen the movie version of Tuck, you have no idea of the richness of Babbitt’s story. I was furious with Disney for turning such a profound book into a teen romance. While I’m on the subject of insightful books, here are some other fiction books that have knocked the wind out of me with their depth of perception:

1) Fahrenheit 451 (You’ve got to read this if you love words/books/ideas.)
2) Gentian Hill by Elizabeth Goudge (Goudge is an extraordinary writer who deals with moral themes yet never preaches at you. The main love story in this book didn’t interest me much, but one of the lesser characters was a man who loved nothing more than to sit in his cozy library of books. He gave it up to reach out to needy people and I’ve been challenged to follow his example ever since. And he wasn’t even a “real” person!)
3) A Higher Call by Harold Bell Wright (The heroine of this book would not marry her pastor boyfriend because she wanted to actively serve God and not just “play church”). Very significant for me since I have been a part of the church all my life.
4) The Giver by Lowry is another one that I’ve mentioned before about the importance of pain. Who would have thought you could write a book like that in our comfort-obsessed culture and get away with it?!

Happy reading!