OBENTO: ART IN A LUNCH BOX by Teresa V. Mitchum2016
At school in Japan, children bring a boxed lunch known as obento. In this informational text, Teresa V. Mitchum provides information about what lunchtime looks like for children in Japan. As you read, take notes on how parents prepare obento for their children.
WHAT’S SO MUCH FUN ABOUT LUNCHTIME IN JAPAN?
Japanese kids eat a good-looking lunch. They carry lunches to school in bento boxes. Their boxed lunch is called obento (oh-BEN-toe).

Bento boxes are small containers made out of plastic, wood, or metal. Sometimes they have sections to separate the food.

The bento boxes are usually decorated with cartoon characters, animals, or flowers. They have matching chopsticks or silverware containers, bags, cups, and lunch mats.

PRETTY FOOD
Inside the bento box, the obento is just as colorful. Many Japanese people believe that all food should taste good and look pretty. There is a Japanese saying: Food should be made so that you could eat it with your eyes.

Japanese parents often choose foods with different colors, textures,1 shapes, and tastes. Then they arrange the food in the bento boxes.

Mrs. Sato, who lives in Tokyo, makes obento for her son Koki. She says, “I want Koki’s obento to be colorful. I try to include foods that are red, green, yellow, and brown. I make the obento look nice but also make sure it’s healthy.”

What do kids eat as their obento? Rice and side dishes.

Koki likes a layer of rice in the bottom of his bento box. Sometimes Mrs. Sato puts shogayaki, stir-fried pork, on top of the rice. Sometimes she sprinkles it with furikake. These are sprinkles made from nori (seaweed) or dried fish. Many children in Japan love them.

Giri, another boy, brings onigiri. These are sticky rice balls or triangles wrapped in dried, pressed seaweed. Sometimes the onigiri have a pickled plum,2 small bits of cooked salmon, or flaked fish in the middle.

The side dishes include pickled, boiled, or steamed vegetables; omelets made with salt and sugar; small sausages; fish; or meat. Umeboshi (pickled Japanese apricot) is a treat. The dessert is fresh fruit.

BEFORE YOU EAT
Obento time is special. First, children wash their hands and gargle3 with a kind of mouthwash. Then they get their obento from their bags. In the winter, the sensei (teacher) may take their obento out of a warmer for them.

Before eating, they sing a fun song about obento:

We are so happy because it’s obento time.

Our hands are washed and clean.

Everybody is here now,

So let’s say, “Thank you

for the food, Mommy

and Daddy.”

1.
PART A: What is the central idea of the text?

A
Japanese children eat healthier lunches than American children.
B
Obento focuses on how food looks, rather than how it tastes or its nutrition.
C
Great thought and care is put into obento lunches for children in Japan.
D
Parents use bento boxes as a way to express their love to their children.

2.
PART B: Which detail from the text best supports the answer to Part A?

A
“The bento boxes are usually decorated with cartoon characters, animals, or flowers.” ( Paragraph 3)
B
“Japanese mothers often choose foods with different colors, textures, shapes, and tastes. Then they arrange the food in the bento boxes.” ( Paragraph 5)
C
“Giri, another boy, brings onigiri. These are sticky rice balls or triangles wrapped in dried, pressed seaweed.” ( Paragraph 9)
D
“Kids put their obento, chopsticks, and cups on their lunch mats. They sit at classroom tables.” ( Paragraph 12)

3.
Which of the followings is the first thing the children do for obento time?

A
They prepare their obento.
B
They wash up and use mouthwash.
C
They sing a song about their obento.
D
They thank their parents for the food.

4.
Which of the following best describes how the text is organized?

A
The author describes the different foods included in obento and then the common practice for children’s lunchtime in Japan.
B
The author discusses how children eat lunch in Japan and then compares it to how children eat lunch in America.
C
The author describes the different foods children bring in bento boxes and then their personal feelings about the food.
D
The author discusses children’s routine when they eat their obento and then details the different foods they eat.