10.26.2008

What alcoholic beverage pairs best with your favorite children's book?

Examiner.com came out with a few fantastically awesome (and spot-on) lists of books to read with alcohol: beer, wine, and hard liquor.  I went through an embarrassing Victoria Holt stage in high school so I got a particular laugh out of the recommendation to read her with a glass of white wine.  I also snickered over the recommended pairing of Budweiser/Miller with America (The Book) by Jon Stewart - it's the perfect antidote to my overdose on election coverage.

So what about children's literature?  And young adult?  Am I the only one that does imbibe (sometimes) while reading?  What are some pairings you would choose?  I mean, obviously, you have to pair a raspberry cordial with Anne of Green Gables - that's a no-brainer.  Any others?  Here's a short list off the top of my head:

Beer:
- Sammy Keyes series by Wendelin Van Draanen (is it just me or is she Stephanie Plum in training?)
- Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Almost True Stories of Growing Up Scieszka by Jon Scieszka (totally!)
- Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (probably something cheap and domestic...they are in high school, after all)

Wine:

- Sweet Valley High and Sarah Dessen's books are white wine books (I mean NO disrespect to Sarah Dessen by pairing these together!!!!  If it helps at all, SVH is a white zin and The Truth About Forever is a complicated, rich Viognier)
- Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares (totally white wine fare)
- My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath and Miss Spitfire by Sarah Miller (these are Pinot Noir books - warm, cozy, lovely, complex but not weighed down)
- The Giver by Lois Lowry is a Zinfandel - Before I Die by Jenny Downham is a Zin too.
- The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen is soooooo champagne perfect!

Hard Liquor/Cocktails:

- Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicholson series is the perfect thing to read with a Cosmopolitan, anything pastel-colored, anything with -tini at the end of it.
- Whiskey neat: I think if Kiki Strike were to be an adult and a drinker, she'd go for a no-nonsense, tough-as-nails whiskey neat.  10 Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher is a whiskey neat too, given the speak-easy nature of the setting.
- Harry Potter is challenging, but I would have to choose the pumpkintini I've been dreaming about for two years...you know, they drink all that pumpkin juice...get it???
- Lastly, I don't know if I'm getting the time period right here but doesn't it seem like you should drink mead with Good Masters!  Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz?

Eat, drink, and read children's books while doing so.

4 comments:

Sarah Miller said...

Ha! Looks like I need to pick me up a bottle of Pinot Noir. I don't generally drink, but in this case I think an exception is in order...

Sondra Santos LaBrie said...

My no-brainer would be drinking a Bloody Mary while reading Twilight, or any of the titles in the Stephanie Meyer series.

Unknown said...

Sarah, I highly recommend the King Estate Pinot Noir (Oregon)...and their Pinot Gris. I love the idea of you cuddling up with a glass of wine...and reading your own book! LOL!

Sondra, that's a total no-brainer! Or I could also see drinking a port while reading Meyer's books - something thick, deep red, heavy...in a big ol' glass goblet. Blood-esque, no? You could drink the same drinks for Klause's Blood and Chocolate too.

Nicole said...

Ha ha ha. Funny. How do you have so much time to read with a full time job and a daughter? I can barely get the laundry folded.