Balls!: Round the World Fare for All Occasions.

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

At first, a cookbook about ball-shaped victuals might seem a tad strange, but as the award-winning food author Angela Murrills points out, from Thailand to Sweden and Morocco to Mexico, people like their meals well-rounded. In her introduction, Murrills discusses meatball basics, such as how big to make food balls, how to test for flavour without having to eat raw meat, how to make bread crumbs, how to form balls, and how to tell they are done. The remainder of the book is comprised of recipes with food balls sorted by food type.

Chapters include “Smart Starters and Super Soups,” “Meatballs (Basic and Otherwise),” “Fish Balls,” “Vegeta-Balls and Salads,” “Fancy Balls of the Savory Kind,” “Fruit Balls,” and “Sweetie Balls.” Some of the recipes listed in this collection include New York Deli Balls, Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes, Grilled Olives en Brochette, French Meatball and Onion Soup, Matzo Ball Soup, Spaghetti and Meatballs, Boulettes de Veau, Sweet and Sour Meatballs, Chicken Balls and Dumplings, Sushi Style Fish Balls, Oven Baked Curried Salmon Balls, Warm Tuna Boules Niçoise, Cambridge Sausage Balls, Korean Meatballs, Vietnamese Meatball Sandwiches, Mediterranean Falafel, Peas French Style, Kohlrabi Slaw, Moroccan Meatball Tagine, Meatballs Stroganoff, Baked Apples, Figgy Puddings, Lychees with Lychee Sorbet, Boozy Chocolate Truffles, Rum Balls, and Halloween Eye Balls.

About two dozen attractive, full-colour photographs provide the reader with an idea of what some of the recipes look like, and an index is included for quick reference. Murrills keeps the tone light, and ball puns roll by on a regular basis. Most of the more than 100 recipes offered in this book are easy to prepare and economical. This is a fun book to read, and Balls will help round out any recipe collection.