Vegetables are as Colorful as Candy
When she sat down to read to her three little boys one night, writer Lisa Maxbauer Price realized that the book she wanted to read to them did not exist. So, she planned for a year, worked on it for another year and finally, in April 2016, she debuted the book she had been looking for: Squash Boom Beet.
“I was looking for a book that would show real vegetables and teach children how to recognize them, enjoy looking at them and, most importantly, challenge them to want to eat them,” says Maxbauer Price, a longtime writer for First for Women and Simple Grace magazines. “I also wanted to celebrate the local farmer. I grew up here in Northern Michigan, where farms are part of what makes us prosperous, and what beautifies the land.”
In 2014, between raising her family and working at her full-time job, Lisa made lists and set up a farm-based calendar. She planned her shopping expeditions around when certain vegetables would be plentiful and in season. Then, in 2015, she began with Norconk’s asparagus in May and finished with watermelon radishes in November. She went to a different farmers’ market every weekend, and spent her lunch hour every Wednesday at the Sara Hardy market, looking for the best of the season. From Frankfort to Elk Rapids, from Leelanau to Petoskey, she met all 56 of the growers that she credits in the back of her book.
While she worked with local designer Bethany Gulde on the layout of the book, Maxbauer Price took all of the photos herself because she did not want to use stock photography for such a personal project. Using the produce bought at markets she would do photo shoots at night after work and on weekends.
Maxbauer Price comes from a long line of Michiganders who value food. Her ancestors came to the Grand Traverse region in 1903. They started a dairy, with glass bottles being delivered door to door. The Maxbauer meat market opened in 1913. That love for local food informed her work as a nutrition journalist and now fuels her passion for eating close to the land and close to home.
“My philosophy for this book is to change that old adage about cleaning off your plate. Today’s kids want to know ‘what’s in it for me?’ I wanted to draw them into an adventure about food, where they could brag to their friends about the amazing foods they are eating. With cool names like Easter Egg radishes and dinosaur kale and fire red lettuce, I knew I could express in print the wild colors and interesting textures of food, and feature the names to get kids more excited about their vegetables. Vegetables are as colorful as candy.”
Lisa loves the fan mail she gets from adults, who seem to enjoy the book as much as kids do.
“I got a letter just this week from an 87-yearold woman who got my book as a gift. She grew up on a farm and it brought back so many memories and so much nostalgia that she picked up a pen and wrote me a beautiful letter. She told me she could not wait to share the book with her 93-year-old sister!”
The book is now available in a number of stores around the area, including Horizon Books, Brilliant Books, Sweet Pea and both Press On Juice locations in Traverse City. It is also available in the gift shop at the Historic Barns Park, and soon at the Black Star Farms restaurant, Hearth and Vine. Or order online at SquashBoomBeet.com.
—Krystn Madrine
