I salute Lois Brandt for Maddi’s Fridge. This 2014 picture book manages to do two contradictory things at once: it tells an engaging story and it addresses an important social issue.
The issue is hunger, and it emerges smoothly and naturally: after Sofia and Maddi play at the park all day, Sofia opens Maddi’s fridge to look for a snack. And…it is empty. Oh, there’s a little milk, but that’s all, and the illustration makes it clear that the other shelves are completely empty. When Sofia asks why Maddi’s mom doesn’t go to the store to get more, Sophia explains that they don’t have enough money. There’s an awkward but realistic moment of the girls staring at one another, then Sofia goes home to eat after promising Maddi she won’t tell anyone.
When Sofia opens her own fridge, it is full and varied, top to bottom. That night, Sofia concocts a plan to help her friend. The next day, she brings healthy food to share: fish, which is by that time, stinky! This is the first in a standard try/fail sequence common to picture books (and other genres), until she finally comes up with something that is tasty, healthy, and portable. (At dinner each night, Sofia asks her mother if what they are eating is good for them, which sets up other sequences of repetition with her mom and brother, and does some light education on healthy food.)
So, Sofia succeeds somewhat in helping her friend, but realizes she’s only helped a little, so she breaks her promise and enlists her mom’s help. They put together bags of food, then take them to Maddi’s. While the moms talk, the girls go play–and reconcile over Sofia breaking her promise.
I think what worked best about this book is the way it exposes hidden aspects of our lives. Sofia just assumes Maddi will have food, and Maddi, for her part, is embarrassed, even ashamed, that she does not. These two girls are otherwise inseparable, but they are leading different lives.
Brandt makes this sad reality easier to face with the humor, and Vin Vogel’s cartoonish illustrations are expressive and full of energy.
