Edible books back on the menu at N. Mankato library
Mar. 5—NORTH MANKATO — There were entries that reveled in puns ("Lard of the Fries," "Fig Nate.")
There were entries that were drowning in sweetness (Cinderella's castle with ice cream cone turrets, West Highland terriers made of marshmallow and frosting).
And despite an array of food that might make a dentist cringe, there was even an entry focused on orthodontic treatments.
"'Smile.' It's about a girl who's getting braces," said Madison Mullen, who worked with cousin Mya McGuire to create the cover of the Raina Telgemeier book out of entirely sweet foods.
"She didn't like it at first but later she did," McGuire added, referring to the girl and her braces, not the cake. "And then in high school she gets 'em off. ... We learn a lot about her."
Madison and Mya, with some ingredient-ferrying assistance from Mya's 7-year-old brother Cam, also created a second cake with lunar decorations. That one celebrated the Eric Carle book, "Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me."
"It's about a man who gets the moon for his daughter," Cam explained.
The number of contestants at the North Mankato Taylor Library's fifth Edible Book Festival were down after the event went virtual a year ago. But it was still a tough task for the judges — Sean Morawczynski and Jared Dean of KEYC and Kevin Qualy of Radio Mankato — to narrow in on winners.
"Have to do a couple of laps," Morawczynski said as the trio, clipboards in hand, made their way for a second time around the tables of book-themed goodies.
Briella Rademaker of North Mankato had already picked her champion.
"Yeah, the princess cake," the North Mankato four-year-old said.
That was the Cinderella castle crafted by Avah Heinze of Eagle Lake out of gumdrops and ice cream cones, cake and frosting, and the must-have princess ingredient — gold glitter, this time the edible Christmas cookie kind.
"We come every year," said Avah's mother, Dianna Heinze. "This is our first entry."
Hallie Uhrich, assistant director of the library, organized the festival for the fourth time and said the participants never fail to impress.
"I really like seeing what people come up with. It's always a surprise every year."
As for whether books and food go together, Uhrich isn't one to have a snack in one hand and a book in the other when she's reading. As a librarian, though, she sees plenty of evidence that many readers have a contrary opinion. Sometimes there's a whole smorgasbord sprinkled among the pages.
"It's kind of gross," she said.
On Saturday, though, the festival ended with library patrons invited to take a slice of Fig Nate, or a miniature McDuff, or a chunk of the moon. Plenty of napkins were available.
The winners were:
Punniest: "Fig Nate" (Gabriel Smith)
Child Prodigy: "Book of Monsters" (Martha Johnson)
Most Edible: "Smile" (Mya McGuire)
People's Choice: "Lard of the Fries/Lard of the Rings" (Emery Family)
Best Staff Entry: "McDuff Saves the Day" (Lyssa Forseth)
