It’s been spring break here, and while we’ve been enjoying less-than-lovely weather (no snow, thankfully, but lots of rain), we’ve managed to get a few things done around the house. Like digging up a place for an herb garden, and painting one of the many rooms that need to be painted. And go on a brief weekend trip to Oklahoma City. Which is where The Search for Delicious comes in. We — my husband and I (the girls weren’t interested, preferring to plug into various electronic devices) — listened to the book on the drive down. And thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

It’s a quaint little book, by Natalie Babbitt. DeCree, the prime minister of an unnamed country, is writing a dictionary. And all is going well until he hits upon the word delicious. He writes: “Delicious as fried fish.” But no, the king won’t have it. In fact, no one can agree on what delicious is. And so, Gaylen, DeCree’s adpoted son, goes out to poll the people about what they think. As a result, town turns against town, people against people, all being riled up by Hemlock, who wants to be king. It’s up to Gaylen to save them all.

We were worried about this turning into an adventure story, but I think it redeems itself quite nicely in the end. There is Adventure and unusual beings (woldwellers, mermaids and dwarfs to be exact), but it all works quite nicely together.

And we got a superb audio rendition of the story. It was narrated by Natalie Babbitt herself, with a cast of actors playing/reading supporting roles. It kept us completely engaged in the story, and even drew the girls in, in the end.

A most wonderful way to pass a long drive.