Where Does Food Come From?

Simple, straightforward, and pleasing to the eye and ear, Where Does Food Come From? introduces young children to Earth's wide-ranging sources of food, looking at how people cultivate, catch, or process what they eat. Organized into 14 topics covering rice, sugar, honey, vegetables, fruit, seafood, and more, the program presents brief animated segments hosted by a gnomish fellow who guides the viewer through the stages of getting edibles to our plates. For example, the piece on rice offers a quick tour illustrating how the grain is raised in water, harvested, and hulled, while the wheat chapter explains how parts of the kernel are separated out before flour is sent to bakeries to make bread. The produce sections sort through the differences (and similarities) between fruits and vegetables, and how eating them is part of nature's way of dispersing seeds. The discussion on chocolate will amaze chocoholics of all ages with the complicated tale of the production process from the cacao tree in South America to the Hershey bar at the corner store. Unlike the other segments, the section on meat skips over some steps—including the grisly details of slaughter. Also featuring bouncy songs summarizing the information, DVD extras include bonus music videos, MP3s of all the songs, multiple-choice test sheets, and printable lyrics. Recommended. Aud: E, P. (T. Keogh)