Chattanooga State students are eating books again?

Photo Gallery

5th annual Edible Book Festival

The smell of buttery sweet pastries blended with chattering voices as bookworms and bakers met in the library at Chattanooga State Community College last week.

It was time for the fifth annual Edible Book Festival.

To encourage people to read during National Library Week, students, faculty and staff were challenged to create foods to illustrate a book. Twenty-four appetizing entries filled three tables.

One reader built a house out of dried mango slices to illustrate "The House on Mango Street."

Another stacked a variety of bite-size candy bars on one side of a plate and put one lonely Dove candy bar on the other to depict "The Lone Dove."

"It's to promote literacy," said Dean of Library Services Susan L. Jennings as students and faculty continued filing into the Riverside Cafe within the Kolwyck Library & Information Commons.

She asked participants to read a book and then make a culinary treat to illustrate it.

Entrant No. 6 used orange, yellow and green icing to draw the book cover of "No David," a children's book by David Shannon, on top of his cake. Like the book cover, the cake depicts a young boy reaching for a fish bowl and about to tip it over.

Entrant No. 13 used dark and white chocolate to decorate strawberries like penguins complimenting the book "Mr. Popper's Penguins" by Richard and Florence Atwater.

And another reader used chocolate cupcakes and icing to illustrate the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle.

One red cupcake, decorated with eyes, nose and mouth, was followed by several more cupcakes topped with lime green icing to create the body. The cupcakes stretched across the table, winding around food like a watermelon slice and a pickle, both with holes where the caterpillar had eaten.

Librarian Sarah Copeland walked around each entry before casting her vote for the People's Choice Award.

She wouldn't say which one she picked, but she said she selected based on the entry that looked like it took the most effort.

She said some entries, like "The Lone Dove," made her laugh, and others were notably creative.

"It's hard to choose one," she said before making a long pause in front of a red velvet cake topped with a scarlet flower.

The cake illustrates the book, "The Scarlet Pimpernel," by Baroness Emmuska Orczy.

Food and book viewing continued for two hours before judges finalized their decisions.

Celebrity author George Singleton, visiting campus for a Writers @ Work event, canvassed the tables, peering at each entry before making his decision for the Author's Choice Award.

One table in the room included only pastries depicting books written by Singleton. He got to choose the winner.

Students Shaquita Stalmaker and Angela Molina made tic-tac-toe cookies and cookies shaped like fish to illustrate Singleton's "The Half-Mammals of Dixie." The winner was McKenzie Forest's entry, a Gothic wedding cake based on books Show and Tell and A Rose for Emily.

Other judges who selected winning entries include Chattanooga State Community College President Rebecca Ashford and Liz Norell, assistant professor.

A depiction of "The Spiderwick Chronicles" by the Magnificent 3 won the People's Choice Award and Best Overall Award. Its creators included students Jessica Potts and Kambria Calloway.

Life Sciences Department won the Most Creative Award. Haley Johnson submited the entry.

And Carly Brewer Economic & Community Development submited "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" that won the Department Award.

Contact Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.