When we look back at our childhood, it is perhaps the cakes
we had on our birthdays or the ice creams we ate in the heat of the summer that
we remember the most. It is fitting that this is reflected within the many
texts written specifically for children. The works of Children’s Literature are
saturated with food imagery, and it is the desire and/or consumption of these
sweet foods that play a significant role within the texts.
Chocolate, sweets, and cake can be allowed or forbidden,
consumed in excess or only dreamt of. They can illustrate sin and vice, further
the fantastical, and act as a motivator for good or bad behaviour in such a way
that savoury food does not. Typically, sweet foods are marketed specifically
for children and so are valued and coveted by them. Therefore, this blog shall
explore the various different portrayals and representations of sweet foods in
Children’s Literature.
Starting with stories written in the nineteenth century and
working all the way to present day, I will be looking at the presence and
various functions of food in fictional texts and cookbooks, as well as
consulting older family members to gain an insight in to the foods they enjoyed
as a child. I will combine this with some culinary creations of my own, taken
from recipe books old and new in order to understand the great appeal that
sweet foods have for children.
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