For a book to grab my attention these days it’s going to be something unique. I seem to still have an affinity for everything from my childhood and The Great American Cereal Book is the perfect example of a book that’s right up my alley.
The book details the very beginning of breakfast cereals which was an American invention. It all started with a doctor named James Caleb Jackson who ran a sanitarium who was looking to create a healthy alternative to breakfast in the early parts of the 1860s. His cereal named Granula started to gain some ground commercially. So you can blame nutrition for insane people on what became an American tradition.
It was Dr. John Kellog’s imitation cereal, which he also called Granula and ended up changing the name to Granola after getting sued that started the craze. Post wasn’t far behind with Grape-Nuts. And this was all before the 1900s.
The book continues on with more cereals than you can possibly imagine, their release dates, variations and eventually mascots and marketing sugary cereals to children.
The 80s was an insane time for cereals. We had rabbits stealing Trix, Leprechauns creating Lucky Charms, Fred Flinstone not wanting to share any Fruity Pebbles with Barney, Count Chocula still haunting children even if it wasn’t Halloween and Cap’n Crunch making me insane to find his buried treasure in middle school. This was what our Saturday morning cartoons commercials consisted of!
Not to mention short runs on cereals that followed things popular at the time like Smurf Berries, Mr. T Cereal, C-3P0’s, G.I Joe Action Stars and Batman to name a few.
Weather your still coo coo for cocoa puffs or just a pop culture buff, this book is jam packed with a ton of American history that fascinated me and brought me back to a time in my childhood when having a bowl of a sugary cereal was a once in a while amazing treat!
Here is a great collection of retro 80s commercials. They’re Grrreeeaatt!
So which breakfast cereal is your favorite?
