Book Log 2022 #43: The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt

I wound up reading this to fulfill the reading challenge of a book mentioned in another book, though at this point I couldn't tell you what the other book was.  I wound up choosing it based on having played the villain in a grade school play adapted from the book. It was the apex of my theatrical career, as I had the most lines, got to wear a purple velour cape as part of my costume, had a song, and (spoiler alert) a death scene. 

Oh, right, the book. The prime minister of a kingdom is trying to write a dictionary, and gets stuck when trying to define 'delicious.' The king and queen object to his definition ("Delicious is fried fish"), so the prime minister sends his stepson out to ask everyone in the kingdom how they'd define the word. 

At some point there's an uprising in the kingdom, with the villain taking control of the water supply (though in my memory of the play, the villain acts to get his own definition of delicious - the taste of walnuts - chosen for the dictionary). Various mystical creatures are involved in the story and its resolution.

It was fun to read the book and compare it to my memories of the play (which are likely not as accurate as I'd like them to be). This was an early work for Babbitt, who may be best remembered for Tuck Everlasting, which I remember as being hugely popular at the time we did the play.