YUM! ¡MMMM! ¡QUÉ RICO!: AMERICAS' SPROUTINGS by Pat Mora And Rafael Lopez

 



Mora, P., & López Rafael. (2007). YUM! ¡MMMM! ¡QUÉ RICO!: AMERICAS' SPROUTINGS. Lee & Low Books Inc.

 

This picture book is about indigenous foods of the Americas.  They are celebrated in this collection of haiku, which also includes information about each food's origins.  Each food is featured in a two-page spread.  The beautiful artwork is spread across both pages.  On the left page is the information about the food’s origins.  On the right page is the haiku poem written about food.  It includes blueberries, chile, chocolate, corn, cranberries, papaya, peanuts, pecans, pineapple, potatoes, prickly pear, pumpkin, tomatoes, and vanilla.  Typing them all out, I realize they are in alphabetical order. The book is available in both English and Spanish.

The illustrations are colorful and have an Aztec or Native American theme. In the descriptions, many of the foods were used by Native Americans first, so is a cultural marker.  Most of the characters in the pictures are dark with dark hair, so they are Latino or Native American, another cultural marker. The architecture in the illustrations portrays different Latino and Native areas.  There are Adobe dwellings and houses with clay tiles on the roof.   Depending on where the foods grow, the pictures reflect the landscape.  The prickly pear is set in the desert.  The papaya is in the tropics. These are all cultural markers. 

 

Bank Street Children's Books of the Year (2008)

 Américas Award (2007)

 American Library Association (ALA) Notable Books (2008)

 

Teaching Latin American Through Literacy: “This would be the perfect opportunity for children to delve into their creative sides and reflect upon the beauty in every-day objects. Students will also build upon their vocabulary (in English or in Spanish) as they think of descriptive words and adjectives. Furthermore, the practice of working from a still-life model spans all different forms of art from all different cultures, and has been used by peoples for centuries and centuries.”

Kirkus: “López’s vibrant, folklorish illustrations make the book a visual feast, but the haikus are uneven. Some (Chiles: “Dad bites green mouth-fire / laughs when tears fill his eyes, sighs / ‘Mmmm! This heat tastes good’ “) evoke the essence of their subject; others (Potato: Underground magic. / Peel brown bundle, mash, pile high. / Salt and pepper clouds) are just confusing. More interesting as social science than as poetry, but visually gorgeous. (Nonfiction/poetry. 7-12)”

  

Other books by Pat Mora and Rafael Lopez:

Book Fiesta! ISBN 978-0061288784

 

Other poetry by Pat Mora:

Bookjoy Wordjoy ISBN  978-1620142868

Confetti: Poems for Children  ISBN 978-1880000854

Love to Mamá: A Tribute to Mothers ISBN 978-0756947767

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