Mac & Cheese: The Origin Story (Delicious Duos series) – written by Michael Benner, illustrated by Alison Hawkins
Orchard Books (Scholastic), 2026
How did two items, specifically food, become indelibly associated with one another? The premise behind Mac & Cheese is that a series of encounters had to take place before this culinary combination happened. It was not inevitable that readers, and eaters, would pair penne or fettucine with cheddar or gorgonzola. A second premise of this fast-paced picture story is that puns are funny. Some of the jokes involving language will definitely appeal to adults, and even require some explanation to younger readers. The humor is similar to Ross Burach’s in How Not to Make a Jelly Sandwich, and also reminds me of the incredibly clever Jewish holiday series by Alan Silberberg about matzah, bagels, latkes, and hamantaschen.
Michael Benner never shies away from a cheesy joke. He unashamedly describes Mac as the friendly noodle who “rubbed elbows with everyone,” and suggests that lazy noodles “they lasagna couch to pasta time.” Allison Hawkins’s pictures use the deliberate simplicity of simple cartoon figures to underline the silliness of the plot. Since “Quesoland was a melting pot,” It makes sense that its residents would be nutty, spicy, and sweet. A spray can of cheese is a bulky form with the spindly arms and legs that propel all the characters. A blue cheese is trailed by squiggly lines denoting “pungent smells,” and one simple wheel of cheese is wearing a jaunty hat.
But our hero, the King of Cheese, has a problem. He lacks friends since, not surprisingly, his subjects are suspicious of his royal authority. When a newcomer, Mac, arrives, he is also greeted with skepticism. Other foods had already rejected him on his journey. Who is this joke-cracking outsider who doesn’t seem to belong in Quesoland? But soon he learns that, as a stand-up comic, he needs to persist and win them over. (Cheese Whiz is thrilled to be the answer to a one liner about the alleged smartest cheese.) The Cheese King proves his wisdom by recognizing that welcoming newcomers is a smart move, and will rescue him from his loneliness. Mac & Cheese are soon taking a dip together in the fondue pot and watching scary movies starring “muensters and gorgonzillas.” The moral is not the main point of this clever book, but it does make a point about prejudice, friendship, and authoritarianism. Those ideas will be worth a discussion with children, along with why “Mac was drained from the journey,” and “I feel so provolonely” are poignant. The next book in the series will be Milk & Cookies: The Perfect Pair.
