The Big Boil-Up product reviews

Although this is a book that was written for younger children, it will resonate with older children and adults too. Growing up, I looked forward to boil-up every Tuesday and sometimes on Saturdays as well. In the winter it was especially welcome as we lived in an old, very draughty, house and there was nothing like a big bowl of boil-up to warm us up. Reading this book brought back happy memories of different combinations, always with a bone base (usually pork ribs). My favourite part was the doughboys, but we added a little baking powder and called them dumplings.

This story emphasizes the link between traditional food and whanau. I never saw a recipe written down, but the boil-up that my aunties cooked were unique to them. We always added kumara and pumpkin while one aunt preferred carrots. Another would add copious amounts of puha and potatoes. It did not seem to matter - as the book states, you use whatever you happen to have at the time. The sharing and companionship were just as important as the ingredients you chose. The preparation was part of the fun too, whether it meant gathering wild food or simply going out to the garden to find a pumpkin.

Miss Five and Mr Two liked the repeated chorus of "Let it bubble, let it steam/let the boil-up simmer/we all love a boil-up for our evening dinner" in the first half of the story, and had fun joining in. After the doughboys were added, it changed slightly: "Let it stew, let it simmer, let the boil-up cook.../DON'T lift the lid to take a little look!" (Of course, the doughboys would fall flat if the lid were lifted!) And finally, the first chorus is repeated with a slight modification as the narrator explains how she in turn will pass on the recipe.

Miss Five and Mr Two imagined the dough squishing through their hands and decided it would be fun to go outside to find things to add to the boil-up. Most families with a vegetable garden would be able to find something to add to the basic recipe, and if whanau were intending to join together for dinner, they might come with something else to add. Anything goes where boil-up is concerned. Miss Five recently had Matariki celebrations at her school and all the children brought a vegetable to add to their boil-up. This made the story even more relevant to her as she remembered making and sharing the kai with her friends and whanau.