HISTORY OF IDEAS FESTIVAL IN YORK
See https://yorkfestivalofideas.com/
Latest news and events
Saturday 30 May, 10.30-11.30 we are appearing at the York Festival of Ideas in the York Explore Library on Museum Street. We will be presenting some of the ideas in our book and will be available for book signings afterwards. Do come along and say hello. The event is free! See https://yorkfestivalofideas.com/
OUR BOOK IS OUT SOON
Exciting news. Our book First Helpings: A History of Children and Food is published in May 2026.
Pre-orders are available from:
Reaktion Books
https://reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/first-helpings
University of Chicago Press https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/F/bo266709942.html
What the book's about
What should children eat and why? How should they eat it, and what should they learn about food? Answers to questions like these have differed over time. First Helpings explores the relationship between children and food in history, drawing on a rich variety of social records, cookery and etiquette books, and children's literature. Topics covered include breast/bottle feeding, the difference between "adult" and "children's" food and drink, table manners, school meals, and learning to cook. Deborah Albon and Amy Palmer discuss wider social issues, such as teaching children about the ethics of food choices, the role children have played in food production, and the ever-present scandal of hungry children in society. First Helpings provides a unique look at childhood and eating that relates the past to the present and considers ways forward.