The Fabulous Tale of Fish and Chips
Author: Helaine Becker Illustrated by Omer Hoffmann
Highlights
A vivid account of how the iconic British meal, fish and chips, was born. Celebrates the contributions made by immigrants to British culture. Includes historical notes and the author’s own traditional family recipe for fried fish.
‘Prolific author Helaine Becker has teamed up with award-winning illustrator Omer Hoffmann, to produce a fast-paced, humorous fictional account of how the iconic British meal, fish and chips, was created…. The comic-like illustrations - pencils use for line art and textures; digital coloring - are amusing and capture the atmosphere of the lively marketplace.’ - Association of Jewish Libraries
Joseph Malin loves his grandmother’s fried fish, which she makes according to an old family recipe. It’s so good, he thinks he might be able to make some money from it; money that his immigrant Jewish family desperately needs. He takes it into the marketplace of 19th Century London’s East End and calls out to passers-by: ‘Fresh from the ships, Hot n’ tasty fried fish'. Before long, people are coming from far and wide to try the delicious snack.
But his success inspires a rival. Annette, the greengrocer across the street, sees an opportunity to hawk her own family favourite: Belgian-style fried potatoes. “Piping hot chips!”/So crisp, so delish”, she calls. And they’re a hit too.
The competition between Joseph and Annette heats up as they try to outsell each other at the market. And then one day… crash! The two collide. Chips slip. Fish fly. It’s a disaster. Or perhaps not…
This is the playful account of how the real-life Joseph Malin, a poor Jewish immigrant, invented fish and chips, the iconic British fish and chips dish.
About the Author
Helaine Becker is the bestselling author of more than 90 books for children and young adults, including the No. 1 Canadian national bestseller A Porcupine in a Pine Tree (Scholastic Canada) and the international bestseller Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 (Henry Holt). Her books have won multiple awards and been translated into ten languages. A New York native, Helaine has lived in Toronto, Canada for more than 20 years. She has also written Gottika for Green Bean Books.
Omer Hoffmann is an award-winning Israeli illustrator. His diverse body of work includes illustrations for newspapers, children's books and comics worldwide. Omer's illustrations were selected for the Hans Christian Andersen Illustration Honour List 2016 for the book Hardil Lo Ragill. His work on The Boy who Mailed His Family received the Ben Yizhak Merit Award for Picture Book illustrations in 2020. He lives in Givatayim with his wife and their two children. He also illustrated The Sages of Chelm and the Moon, published by Green Bean Books.
NEW BOOK RELEASE RRP: £9.99 ISBN: 9781784385705 32 PAGES · PAPERBACK PUBLISHED: AUGUST 2021 GREEN BEAN BOOKS