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Out-of-Print Wonder: VivaVenice

March 31, 2011 by Renee Claire

Written by Paola Zoffoli & illustrated by Paola Scibilia, VivaVenice is an amazing kids’ travel guide, the best I’ve ever seen. Published by Elzeviro under the series label Curiosamente, it’s chock-full of puzzles, tangents, and trivia, matched with fantastic illustrations: 

VivaVenice Cover Image

See? ADORABLE.

VivaVenice

The book is 167 pages, and unlike adult travel guides, does not spend much space on practical information (restaurant/hotel reviews, itinerary plans), assuming, I guess, that parents will be making most of those decisions. That leaves almost the entire book for glorious cultural tangents, like this intro to the Commedia dell’Arte…

VivaVenice: Venetian Architecture

..or this mini-architectural guide (in a children’s book! I love it). I also love that the writing is accessible but not dumb (e.g., “Gothic style windows are often decorated with floral motifs and have the traditional acute arch shape, pointed at the top”).

VivaVenice

Here’s a gorgeous rendering of the city, pointing out the three bridges over the Grand Canal (also, the text notes that Venice itself is shaped like a fish).

VivaVenice Excerpt

Each chapter has a section called “Oddities,” featuring trivia like “Why is there a bridge called Ponte delle tette (Bridge of Breasts)?” & “What are the Bauta, Tricorno and Tabarro?” (Answers: The bridge is near an area once reserved for courtesans, who lured clients with their assets; the bauta, etc. were parts of a disguise worn by noblemen when in public).

VivaVenice Excerpt

Here’s a guide to common seafood found at the Rialto market & at many restaurants. The fisherman at the bottom right is one of numerous puzzles hidden throughout the book.

VivaVenice: Gondolas

An obligatory intro to gondolas (complete with steering guide) is followed by a thorough overview of the many different Venetian boats.

VivaVenice: Venetian Baked Goods

As a final example, here’s a guide to popular Venetian pastries. There’s a recipe for zaleti on the following page.

The above spreads weren’t cherry-picked, either. Every page resembles the above, packed with cute drawings & fun info. Simply put, the book is a gem.

Buying info: VivaVenice is available from Amazon.

Filed Under: Books, Festivus, Out-of-Print Wonders, Travel

O.O.P. Wonders: Château Cuisine by Anne Willan

March 23, 2011 by Renee Claire

Here’s a new series for Book Wednesday: O.O.P. Wonders, featuring cool books currently out-of-print. I’ve posted out-of-print favorites before; this just makes it official. First up is a childhood favorite, Château Cuisine: 

Chateau cuisine cover

The book, a mix of coffee table travel book and cookbook, is by Anne Willan, the founder of the renowned La Varenne cooking school. Willan’s a fascinating figure in her own right, a somewhat less-heralded, British Julia Child. For many years, she ran her cooking school from the Château du Fey in Burgundy; that building is included here, along with 33 other châteaux from all over France.

As a child, I remember marveling at this book’s fairy tale architecture, country landscapes, and slightly bizarre French country dishes. Chicken in cider jelly? Pan-roasted wood cock? Tarragon liquer?! I could only dream of what these things tasted like, and in my dreams they were spasm-inducing delicious.

The book has held up well over the years (it was published in 1993, making it an unbelievable 18 years old), although the photos by Christopher Baker have a rich, pre-digital quality:

Chateau cuisine5

Chateau cuisine4

I have never tried the recipes, having always found them intimidating. Looking at them as an adult, however, the difficulty level seems on par with Julia Child’s recipes, i.e., more labor-intensive than your usual week-night dinner, but not French Laundry impossible. The dishes are very traditional French:

Chateau cuisine

Chateau cuisine1

Seriously swoon-worthy, right? I’ll give one of the recipes a go soon, and update here when I do. Used copies of Château Cuisine can be purchased at Amazon; also see Anne Willan’s website for more on her books.

Filed Under: Books, Out-of-Print Wonders Tagged With: TBD

Jane Asher’s Fancy Dress

November 22, 2010 by Renee Claire

Janeasher2

An incredibly rich-looking costume made from old curtains & cardboard. Much of the decoration is gold spray-painted pasta (bow-ties & wheels), fruit gummies, and paper doilies. And yes, I meant to post this for Halloween and here it is, almost Thanksgiving. Sigh.

Jane Asher’s Fancy Dress was a childhood favorite. Every trip to the local library, I’d end up pulling it off the shelf, marvelling at the costumes and dreaming of the day I’d be tall and beautiful enough to dress like an elegant palm tree (below).

Janeasher5

Click for slightly larger image.

So I had mixed feelings when I rediscovered it through a post on Awful Library Books, a blog that mocks old & awful library weeders. On the one hand, it was like rediscovering an old friend; on the other hand, said friend was being pelted with eggs. Further Googling yielded another derisive article, this one from The Daily Mail titled “What were they thinking?” (the “they” refers to the book’s many British celebrity models, including Joanna Lumley and Terry Jones).

I decided to post in praise of the book, then, for balance. Because I still think it’s brilliant. Asher does amazing things with cheap materials and straightforward construction tips, and better an elegant palm tree than another slutty nurse. Some favorite costumes below the cut.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Books, D.I.Y., Halloween Week, Out-of-Print Wonders Tagged With: TBD

Children’s Picture Cookbook: Popcorn Balls

September 19, 2007 by Renee Claire

This is an excerpt of the Children’s Picture Cookbook (recipes by Margaret Gossett, design by Elizabeth Dauber). Previous excerpts: Date Sticks.

The response to last week’s scan was great! Below is the recipe for popcorn balls; I’ll do applesauce next week.
Children's Picture Cookbook - Popcorn Balls

Filed Under: Books, Food, Out-of-Print Wonders, Vintage + Retro

Children’s Picture Cookbook: Date Sticks

September 12, 2007 by Renee Claire

I bought the Children’s Picture Cookbook on my trip to 14th Street Antiques, with the intention of sharing it with you all. Margaret Gossett wrote the recipes and Elizabeth Dauber designed the book (I think she did the illustrations, as there are no other credits).

Below is the recipe for date sticks–haven’t made them, but they sound intriguing:

Retro2

Retro

What would you like to see next: cocoa, applesauce, or popcorn balls?

Filed Under: Books, Food, Out-of-Print Wonders, Vintage + Retro Tagged With: TBD

PopBetty is the personal site of an Atlanta-based writer who loves books, travel, nonprofits, and all things digital.

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