Barilla gears pasta line toward kids

BANNOCKBURN -- Barilla, a pasta maker with U.S. operations in Bannockburn, is introducing Barilla Piccolini, its first line of miniature pasta shapes. Bite-sized Piccolini, which means "little ones" in Italian, are geared for children. With a cook time of seven minutes, it's designed for the busy family. Piccolini is available in four shapes; Mini Farfalle, Mini Penne, Mini Wheels and Mini Fusilli. And as part of its "Kids Italian Table" initiative, Barilla has teamed up with children's book publisher Scholastic to create a custom story and activity book about sharing family meals. It will be available in the May issue of Scholastic Parent & Child and on Scholastic.com.