The Traveling Taco: The Amazing and Surprising Journey of Many of Your Favorite Foods

by Mia Wenjen, Kimberlie Clinthorne-Wong (illustrator)

An exploration of the history of kids’ favorite foods from around the world

From pizza to pasta and ice cream to French fries, some of our favorite foods have a surprising history, and many of them have traveled far from where they originated! Did you know many well-known dishes are food immigrants? The Al Pastor Taco traveled from Lebanon to Puebla, Mexico! French fries originated in Belgium! And pasta arrived in Italy long before Marco Polo visited China. This fascinating nonfiction book featuring rhyming text takes the reader on travels around the world to celebrate foods, their history, and surprising origins. Join Mia Wenjen for a fact-packed journey of discovery that will make your mouth water as you travel the unexpected road of some of our favorite foods.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Food, Travel

36 pages, Hardcover

Published May 6, 2025

Reviews

[Jamie Johnson Leach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool food facts

[Meg Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating tour through the history and cultures behind favorite familiar foods--what a fun, educational read!

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copy provided by the author and publisher

What do shawarma and tacos have in common? Who invented cream cheese? Where did the French fry really originate? These questions, and many more, are answered in this fun overview of the history of popular foods.

Introduced with short rhymes, a variety of foods are briefly investigated, looking at the same main ingredients: What is it? Did you know? Where does it come from? and How did it change? This parallel construction makes the book understandable even by younger readers, and each question is answered succinctly. The illustrations also help make things clear; inset maps with arrows show either the countries from which foods came, or how they spread. At the end of the book, there is an even bigger map with all of the foods on it, which also helps.

While there are some common foods like pizza, pasta, and ice cream, there are also some more unusual foods like ceviche, pavlova, and jerk chicken. There's a nice array of different types of food, and good representation of different cultures.

The illustrations are nice and bright, and rather whimsical; the rice pudding spread is particularly fun, with Lilliputian people frolicking amidst bowls of the dish and the ingredients. I loved that the text says that rice pudding can be eaten as a meal or dessert, as this has been a topic of hot debate in my house. (I say it has enough sugar that it should be dessert, but a friend of mine swears it was served as lunch at his elementary school!)

Books about food are always popular with young readers, and this short, picture book exploration of the origin and development of favorite foods will be a big hit with fans of Stanley and Hartland's Alice Waters Cooks Up a Food Revolution, Castaldo and Mihaly's Ultimate Food Atlas: Maps, Games, Recipes, and More for Hours of Delicious Fun, Zachman and Donnelly's There's No Ham in Hamburgers: Facts and Folklore About Our Favorite Foods, or Lurie's History is Delicious.

[Kayla Lauryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Traveling Taco is a delightful and visually captivating picture book that takes readers on a flavorful journey around the world. Each two-page spread immerses you in a new culture, as if a beautifully set table has been prepared just for you to explore and savor a different dish. The illustrations by Kimerlie Clinthorne-Wong are vibrant and engaging, bringing each scene to life in a way that is both playful and inviting.

What sets this book apart is the seamless blend of storytelling and learning. Scattered throughout the illustrations are fun facts that provide insight into different foods and cultures, making it an interactive experience for curious minds. Whether you are reading aloud to children or exploring the pages on your own, the book offers layers of enjoyment, appealing to the eyes, the imagination, and the intellect.

The Traveling Taco is perfect for readers of all ages, but it is especially beneficial for young readers. It encourages exploration and curiosity, making learning about the world fun and engaging. Through this book, children can develop an appreciation for different cultures and cuisines while enjoying a lively and immersive reading experience.

Having said that, Mia Wenjen’s The Traveling Taco is more than just a picture book; it’s a celebration of culture, food, and curiosity. Its combination of colorful illustrations, educational content, and playful storytelling makes it a must-read for families, classrooms, and anyone with a taste for adventure.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you haven't had the privilege of traveling recently but would love to know about foods and their origins from all over the world and from past history, this is a delectable way to start. Love pizza? No, it did not come from Italy. And when you take a big bite (lick?) of ice cream, remember an early relation is documented as "sharbat', from the Persians. A free black man, Augustus Jackson, invented the modern way of making it, "using salt and ice to control the temperature". Mia Wenjen is our tour guide, using two-line couplets to introduce double-page spreads of various foods from around the world. Kimberlie Clinthorne-Wong's colorful illustrations fill out the information about the foods with maps and people in a way that both informs and delights. Just find that page with the French Fry debate showing the French and Belgian people, both claiming them as their own! Cheesecake is a recent favorite dessert of mine, and there are pages about it, first eaten by ancient Olympians. Wow!
For classrooms studying various topics about our world, this will make a great addition to beginning various research projects. If studying all kinds of historical events, adding food studies that start with Mia's book will beautifully jumpstart an interest.
Thanks to Mia and Red Comet Press for my copy!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Traveling Taco by Mia Wenjen & Kimberlie Clinthorne-Wong was an adorable way to showcase food as immigrants! I was asked to review this book through a Read Your World event and I am so glad that I did! This book would be appropriate for any age! The fun pictures, detailed descriptions, and knowledge of where the food came from is bound to be a hit with anyone, anywhere!

As a 5th grade teacher, I particularly love the way the authors choose to present foods from an immigrants perspective. In our world today this is so important! Our children experience people from all over the world and The Talking Taco gives students a chance to experience foods from many different cultures! Many of the foods that are illustrated are foods that our students can get easily from a restaurant or supermarket!

The illustrations are beautiful. I am very pleased with the way the authors used picture of maps of where the foods are from. It gives students in older grades the opportunity to put geography skills to work!

I love that the headings are in bold and the descriptions or answers are to the point and short. This would be a great book to use while teaching Social Studies, Language Arts, or even Math if you were using recipes.

Overall, I give this book 5 stars for its originality, beautiful illustrations, maps, and descriptions. Great work!

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another hit for Red Comet Press by Mia Wenjen!

Wenjen dtails the origin and evolution of 12 commonly known foods that kids loe to eat today. Inclued are favorites such as pizza, ice cream, cheesecake, and French fries. Each food is featured on a two-page spread and includes a description of what it is, a fun fact about it, where it originated, and how it changed over time. Appended to the back is a very simple map of the world, with pictures of where the food originated and its path to where it is currently popular. A bibliography of websites used for research will lead those who are looking for more information.

Digital artwork on this oversized book was created by Kimberlie Clinthorne-Wong. They lie flat on the page, with some shadowing. The graphic design style is interesting and will encourage kids to try this style of drawing.

Perfect for young readeres to gobble up and for reluctant readers to yearn to learn more about their favorites.

Recommended for PreSchool-grade 2.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Undoubtedly, there are many youngsters and adults who consider French fries and cheesecake to be as all-American as, well, apple pie. But as this interesting picture book points out, many of the foods that we love actually originated somewhere else. With subheadings that rhyme, sometimes a bit awkwardly, but who cares? this informative book traces the origins of yummy foods such as tacos, pasta, fish and chips, and even pizza, among others, first explaining what the dish is, then discussing its origins, how it's changed over time, and additional tidbits about the 12 foods described here. The artwork is just as yummy as the text, and readers will find their mouths watering in anticipation of any of these foods while perusing the book. What a clever title for the book, too! Worth noting is the comment by the author that cooks and chefs adapt recipes to their own tastes or those of others.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children's nonfiction. This book takes 12 different popular foods and tells where they originated and how they have changed over time. Cheesecake, for example, traces its origins back to ancient Greeks who had a dessert of crushed cheese, flour, an egg, and honey. In the 1870s cream cheese was invented and became the basis of New York style cheesecake. It's interesting to see how different foods have traveled and evolved. Pizza also traces back to ancient Greece, as well as Egypt and Rome; though it wasn't until the 1500s when tomatoes were brought to Europe from the Americas that the modern-day pizza came to be. Other foods featured include tacos, pasta, ceviche, pavlova, French fries, fish and chips, ice cream, jerk chicken, rice pudding, and churros. Fairly quick read but very informative, with full-color artistic illustrations featuring people from the countries and time periods mentioned.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This foodie trip around the world is a delightful exploration of intersecting cultures! Boldly illustrated by Kimberlie Clinthorne-Wong, Mia Wenjen’s The Traveling Taco is jam-packed with descriptions and histories of food favorites, like French fries and pizza, as well as some less familiar, like ceviche and Pavlovas. I learned a lot, even about foods I thought I knew well. For example, my family has been making schaum torte for generations, but I never realized it originally came from Australia and New Zealand! I also never knew that fish and chips had its origins in Jewish culture. This book will spark lively dinner table conversations and may even encourage kids—and adults—to try something new. Great features are the book’s browsable quality and the map at the back that invites readers to trace their foods’ global travels.

[Vera Godley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a delightfully fun book and so very educational. The text-bites provide information about when types of food originated and how the traveled or traversed the world with different peoples making minute changes. It's an on-going process of originating, merging, changing, adapting that has happened for Millenia taking the simplest of foods and tweaking them to appeal to one's own family.

Foods included are: Jerk Chicken, Ceviche, Churros, French Fries, Al Pastor Taco, Fish and Chips, Cheescake, Pizza, Pasta, Rice Pudding, Ice Cream, and Pavlova. Each food item's page opens with a short rhyme and then the food history text-bites. So very interesting! It makes you understand and appreciate what you're eating.

I really enjoyed this informative and well designed book.

I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.

[Katy Jao · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading the Traveling Taco with my nieces (5 and 8). They loved the bold, joyful illustrations on each page and particularly enjoyed the rhyming section for each food item.

As a former elementary school teacher, I can easily see this book being used in the classroom, especially during units on culture, geography, or global communities. It's a fantastic way to introduce young readers to the idea that food carries history and meaning, often moving and changing with people across the world. I think this book is a beautiful way to build empathy and appreciation in the classroom with students inspired to research other foods and the cultures they come from.

This book doesn't just celebrate food, it also celebrates curiosity, connection, and identity. It'd make a great addition to any home or classroom library!

[Melanie Ellsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a delight for adults as well as children and will inspire readers to taste (and maybe even cook/bake!) both new and familiar foods. Each food is introduced with a sweet rhyming stanza and then in more detail about the food’s history and evolution as it traveled through time and across countries and cultures. Colorful, playful illustrations and interesting facts add zest to the book. Did you know there are over 1,300 pasta shapes, or that cheesecake dates back to the first Olympic Games in Greece? Kids will eat up these fun facts and likely be inspired to research their own favorite foods. This book makes a great home or school purchase – I can imagine heated classroom discussions around favorite foods, and how adaptations over time and across borders have changed flavor and form. A yummy read!

[Kelly Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Buffet of Tasty Tidbits for Readers and Eaters!
The Traveling Taco, takes us on a fascinating exploration into the origin of our favorite foods. From tacos to ice cream, fish and chips, cheesecake and more, the story of where these foods began, how and by whom they were invented, and their surprising journeys across thousands of miles and years before landing on our tables is served up by Mia Wenjen in rhyming couplets and info-bites perfect for classrooms and dining rooms. Just as bread is better with butter, Kimberlie Clinthorne-Wong’s simple yet detailed and humorous art is the perfect accompaniment to Wenjen’s surprising and conversation-provoking text. After gobbling up The Traveling Taco, we will never dunk a French fry or twirl a strand of pasta in the same way again.

[Cathy Ogren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Mia Wenjen takes readers on a delicious journey to various countries around the world in The Traveling Taco: The Amazing and Surprising Journey of Many of Your Favorite Foods.
Each spread introduces yummy foods which many of you are familiar with. The illustrations are created by Kimberlie Clinthorne-Wong. Her clever visuals add to Mia Wenjen’s tasty text by showing where the food originated and where it’s popular today,. This book is a smorgasbord of diverse ethnic cuisines from around the world, and how they’ve changed over the years. If you or anyone in your family is a foodie, you will want to sink your teeth into this book!

[Erin Buhr]

Did you know that Al Pastor Tacos originally came from Lebanese immigrants who moved to Mexico?Did you know that Fish and Chips were created by Jewish immigrant who came to Britain to escape the Portuguese Inquisition? This nonfiction book tells the fascinating origin stories of so many foods. It is an interesting way to think about immigration and how the movement of people to new places has effected what we eat throughout history. It is also a fun book about delicious food. I found this to be so relatable and I learned so many facts that I find myself thinking about and sharing when I eat many of my favorite foods.

[J.C. Kato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy Book Birthday! I had the good fortune of having a pre-publication copy of this to review, but will definitely be ordering this PB for my grandkids. Every toddler's home should grow up with one.

Mia Wenjen is a weaver of friends, culture, and now food. In thinking I knew where the foods I eat like ice cream, pizza, and tacos came from, I am enlightened as to their ancient historical beginnings. There's light poetry with deep research condensed into short and relatable text for kids (and me) to absorb and have fun with.

[Tina Shepardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Traveling Taco written by Mia Wenjen, is a fascinating and educational book exploring many well-known and unknown foods around the world. Many foods I always thought were American such as french fries, really originated in other parts of the world. Readers of all ages will find these facts and tasty ingredients exciting to learn. Kimberlie Clinthorne-Wong's colorful illustrations bring a zest for the food and its flavor. This is a fun read for readers of every age that will inspire and educate whether in a home or school library, or as a gift to someone.

[Joy Wieder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun international trip following our favorite foods across the globe! This fascinating non-fiction books tells the story of how our favorite foods came to be. It includes a rhyming main text for each food, such as french fries, pizza, and tacos, and pairs it with fun facts and interesting info about where the food originated, how it's changed and more! Who knew that England's fish and chips was started by Jewish immigrants fleeing the Inquisition? Kids will love to delve into the background of foods they know and love. Maps and colorful illustrations make the text come alive.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so fun! I often have students looking for browsable nonfiction with bite-sized facts (pun intended) and books about food are always in high demand. I appreciate that the twelve featured foods come from a variety of cultures, and the bright, cheerful illustrations help young readers visualize how those foods have been popularized across the globe. I even learned a few things about foods I was already familiar with! Recommended for school libraries, and sure to be popular with cooking clubs offered through any after school or enrichment program.

[Kerry Collins]

#ReadYourWorld
A copy of this book was provided to me to review for Read Your World Day 2026. With accessible text and bright colorful illustrations, we learn where foods originated, how they were introduced to other places, and how they have changed. From tacos, to pasta, to cheesecake, the reader learns a bit of history and how food is important to us. Each page also features a "Did you know?" which adds a bit more detail. With foods from many different cultures, there is something for everyone to learn and enjoy in The Traveling Taco.

[Hailey Vittrup · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I received this book as a DRC. The Traveling Taco is the best kind of educational book about popular food dishes that originated all over the world. It was colorful and flavorful in the sense of its description or listing of seasonings and ingredients. While some of the wording could have been expanded or synonyms could have been used in part to avoid repetition, this was an enjoyable children's book to read.

[Daria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is such a fun way to explore the background, diversity and history of favorite foods. Who knew that the first ice cream came from China? And what about pizza, past and fish and chips? Great books inspire curiosity and this book did just that. Plus I love the gorgeous and colorful illustration style.

Our whole family enjoyed the book and it made us hungry to learn more on this topic!

[Danielle Hammelef · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed traveling the world while reading this book and learning about different cultures and history through the foods people created. I learned that as people immigrated, they brought their recipes with them and then those recipes were adapted with ingredients available in their new home lands. Readers will enjoy learning about their favorite foods as well as new ones to try. The illustrations are bright and fun and the colors used are eye-catching.

[Laura Bower · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Traveling Taco is a fascinating look at the origin and stories behind many favorite foods. The book starts off with a taco but then delves into so many other popular dishes from around the world — including ceviche, cheesecake and churros. The Traveling Taco will inform (cheesecake can be traced back to the first Olympic Games!), entertain (with its fun facts and colorful illustrations) and make you hungry. I highly recommend!

[Anitra Rowe Schulte · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Traveling Taco" is a picture book that dives into the history of favorite foods, giving readers a taste of their globe-trotting origins. Colorful, mouth-watering illustrations and fascinating text play compellingly across the page, encouraging readers to pop around and sample yummy facts. "The Traveling Taco" includes the stories of the al pastor taco, ceviche, french fries, and more, divulging details that satisfy and surprise. Delicious!

[Lydia Lukidis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Traveling Taco is a vibrant nonfiction picture book where each two-page spread introducing a beloved food through a playful rhyme, followed by four informative sections. It features popular dishes children will know, like pasta and cheesecake, but also features lesser known foods like ceviche and pavlova. I love the way Mia Wenjen formatted the book with bite‑sized facts are perfect for young readers, as well as the fun illustrations by Kimberlie Clinthorne-Wong.

[Maritere Rodriguez Bellas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A trip around the world led by food. Sign me up! From tacos, to pasta, to cheesecake to French fries and more, the book teaches children the story behind all the foods we love. Where they came from, how they change and perhaps little-known facts that will spark even further conversations and of course will make their tummies hungry and taste buds watery.
The perfect book for classrooms and home libraries too! Ice cream, anyone? Bravo, Mia Wenjen and Kimberlie Clinthorne-Wong!

[Bethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect book to read on Taco Tuesday, or for any other day that celebrates food. A short rhyme introduces each popular food item and then explains its origin and journey around the world. Engaging illustrations, small text blocks, maps, and large size format. Bibliography has one entry for each item. The last page spread shows all the foods in relation to the world but the continent map areas are very light in color and hard to distinguish from the page background, my only complaint.

[Srujan · Rating 5 out of 5]

📌 Children's Picture Book 85 of 2026

A short, whirlwind tour of some of the foods that have travelled across the world as people immigrated to various parts of the world in various circumstances. The book talks about each food only briefly but the food can be explored independently by the child and the parent using free resources on the internet for sure. One of my 5 year olds is a curious foodie, so this was right up his alley.