Mem Fox, Possum Magic. Illustrated by Julie Vivas. New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1983.
Food has magical properties, as all children know. Notions of distinctness and indistinctness, of separateness and togetherness, all are mediated through food. That it becomes you is a profoundly unsettling notion for many.
So Mem Fox's Possum Magic seems to speak clearly to children, despite the slender plot. Grandma Poss uses her magic to make little Hush invisible--mostly to protect her from snakes, though invisibility has other benefits. But one day Hush wants to see what she looks like again, and asks Grandma Poss to make her visible once more. And though she tries, she can't manage it: "Grandma Poss looked miserable. 'Don't worry, Grandma,' said Hush. 'I don't mind.' But in her heart of hearts she did."
Grandma is not so easily defeated, however. And the next morning, just before breakfast, she remembers that the magic has something to do with food. And so the two of them embark on a voyage around Australia, sampling regional delicacies wherever they go, in an effort to render Hush visible once more. And slowly but surely, Hush reappears.
This is the kind of book that gets children really excited about food. Be prepared to try new ones!