Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico! Americas' Sproutings
Mora, P. (2007). Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico! Americas' Sproutings. Ill
Rafael Lopez. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books.
Book Summary:
This is a lovely picture book collection of different poems about
colorful foods from different parts of the Americas. It is written in Haiku
poems on each page and then a non-fiction side bar with facts and information
about that certain food. Each poem describes the food item in a way that
children will enjoy and they create wonderful images for young readers. For
example she describes a pineapple by starting the poem saying “A stiff, spiky
hat”. The author Pat Mora writes about a wide variety of foods in this book
ranging from fruits, and vegetables, to flavors like vanilla. The book ends by
putting all the foods together for a fun little rhyme.
Cultural Analysis:
This is great book to celebrate different Hispanic/Latino
cultures that originate in the Americas. The author Pat Mora chose foods to
represent several different countries and families. She was also able to
incorporate a few Spanish words to add to the cultural experience of the book. The
illustrator Rafael Lopez also did a wonderful job of displaying all different skin
tones and environmental backgrounds on each page. He captured the place of origin
for each food with bright and vibrant colors that will engage and please young
readers. He incorporated several Hispanic/Latino tradition items to each pages
as well like maracas.
Editorial Reviews:
School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3—This concept book serves as a delicious
introduction to 14 types of food, all of which have their origins in the
Americas. Snippets of information and a haiku poem accompany each one, ranging
from blueberry and chili pepper through papaya, prickly pear, and vanilla.
Using English and a smattering of Spanish words, Mora crafts a playful
introduction to each one, as in "Pumpkin": "Under round
luna,/scattered tumblings down the rows,/autumn's orange face." The sense
of whimsy is further underscored in López's colorful acrylic on wood-panel
illustrations. Artful compositions and brilliant complementary colors bear out
the book's multicultural themes. The art conveys an infectious sense of fun, as
smiling suns and moons beam down upon happy children and animals, along with a
trumpet-wielding peanut-butter sandwich and a dancing pineapple. Teachers will
find this a welcome addition to their social-studies units, but it should also
win a broad general audience for its inventive, fun-filled approach to an
ever-popular topic: food.—Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
"This inventive stew of food haiku celebrates the
indigenous foods of the Americas." --Booklist
"Mora's descriptive poetry features wonderful word
choices and gets it right to the essence of each food...Perfect for sharing as
part of the curriculum or just for fun." --Book Links
"Teachers will find this a welcome addition to their
social-studies units, but it should also win a broad general audience for its
inventive, fun-filled approach to an ever-popular topic: food." --School
Library Journal
"In this cross-curricular treat, imaginative...acrylic
illustrations...are paired with playful haikus and a paragraph of information
to introduce 14 foods indigenous to the Americas..." --SLJ Curriculum
Connections
Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family's Fight for Desegregation
Tonatiuh, D. (2014). Separate is never equal: Sylvia Mendez
& her family's fight for desegregation. New York, NY: Abrams Books for
Young Readers.
Book Summary:
This is the story of a very brave little girl Sylvia Mendez
and her family. The Mendez family moved to California in the summer of 1944.
When Sylvia and her brothers went to register at the school close to the house they
were denied and told she had to go to the “Mexican” school. This upset her and
her family so her father went to the school’s superintendent demanding answers
and he couldn’t give him one. Mr. Mendez couldn’t find anyone to give him an answer
so he then created the Parents’ Association of Mexican-American Children hoping
other families would join in and fight for the right for their children to go
to the same school. The other families didn’t join right away until Mr. Mendez
hired a lawyer, Mr. Marcus. With Mr. Marcus’ help, Mr. Mendez was able to find
other families fighting for the same thing. Together they went to court and
fought the public school system for equal rights for all students. After five
days the trial was over and the waiting began. It took the judge almost a year
to deliver his decision but when he did he decided in favor of the Mendez
family. However the school board appealed and they had to take their case to
the state court. This time they had more support from several different culture
groups. The Mendez family won again and then in June of 1947 the Governor of California
signed a law saying that all children were allowed to go to school together
regard less of race and ethnicity. Sylvia had a hard time at the beginning but
quickly learned to ignore the kids who picked on her and she made several
friends.
Cultural Analysis:
This is a very moving book of one families fight to end
segregation against the Hispanic/Latino people and the ability to send their
children to a good school. The author, Duncan Tonatiuh, was able to add touches
of the Spanish language into the story as the voice of Mrs. Mendez and other families
in the story. It adds to the story by demonstrating the native language. Duncan
Tonatiuh is also the illustrator and he did a wonderful job showing the
different skin tones and even in the direction he face the characters heads. In
the pictures on the pages where Sylvia is going to the “white” school her face
is tilted down where the white students have their heads held high. I also like
how the illustrations help support the story describe the horrible conditions of
the “Mexican” school. The story does not say that it smells and is probably hot
but the pictures have flies swarming the students creates the image that their
school is in a cow pasture with an electrical fence and they are treated like
animals and not children. The pictures also show that the school didn’t have a playground
and there was nothing to make it even look like a school. The illustrations on
the pages with the pool also created a very moving image abour how unfair and
horrible they were treated. The pictures showed the Hispanic/Latino children
behind the bars of the pool because they could not swim. There was even a sign
posted saying “No Dogs or Mexicans Allowed”. Overall this was a very powerful
book that my students really enjoyed and felt moved by, the sign of a great
book.
Editorial Reviews:
School Library Journal
Gr 2–5—When the Mendezes moved to Westminster, CA, in 1944,
third-grader Sylvia tried to enter Westminster School. However, the family was
repeatedly told, "'Your children have to go to the Mexican school.' 'But
why?' asked Mr. Mendez……'That is how it is done.'" In response, they
formed the Parents' Association of Mexican-American Children, distributed
petitions, and eventually filed a successful lawsuit that was supported by
organizations ranging from the Japanese American Citizens League to the
American Jewish Congress. Younger children will be outraged by the injustice of
the Mendez family story but pleased by its successful resolution. Older
children will understand the importance of the 1947 ruling that desegregated
California schools, paving the way for Brown v. Board of Education seven years
later. Back matter includes a detailed author's note and photographs. The
excellent bibliography cites primary sources, including court transcripts and
the author's interview with Sylvia Mendez, who did attend Westminster School
and grew up to earn the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Tonatiuh's illustrations
tell a modern story with figures reminiscent of the pictorial writing of the
Mixtec, an indigenous people from Mexico. Here, the author deliberately
connects his heritage with the prejudices of mid-20th century America. One
jarring illustration of three brown children barred from a pool filled with
lighter-skinned children behind a sign that reads, "No Dogs or Mexicans
Allowed," will remind readers of photographs from the Jim Crow South.
Compare and contrast young Sylvia Mendez's experience with Robert Coles's The
Story of Ruby Bridges (Scholastic, 1995) to broaden a discussion of school
desegregation.—Toby Rajput, National Louis University, Skokie, IL
Booklist
Pura Belpré Award–winning Tonatiuh (Pancho Rabbit and the
Coyote, 2013) makes excellent use of picture-book storytelling to bring
attention to the 1947 California ruling against public-school segregation. The
concise, informative text, with occasional and always translated Spanish lines,
discusses how being banned from enrolling in an Orange County grade school
because of her skin tone and Mexican surname inspired Sylvia Mendez’ family to
fight for integrated schools. Soon they were joined by many others, including
the NAACP and the Japanese American Citizens League, which led to their hard-won
victory. Tonatiuh’s multimedia artwork showcases period detail, such as the
children’s clothing and the differences between the school facilities, in his
unique folk art style. An endnote essay recapping the events, photos of Sylvia
and her schools, and a glossary and resource list for further research complete
this thorough exploration of an event that is rarely taught. This would be a
useful complement to other books about the fight for desegregation, such as
Deborah Wiles’ Freedom Summer (2001) or Andrea Davis Pinkney’s Sit-In (2010).
Grades 2-5. --Francisca Goldsmith
Other books that are recommended:
The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist
Engle, M. (2013). The lightning dreamer: Cuba's greatest
abolitionist. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Book Summary:
This is the very moving story of Tula a young girl growing
up in Cuba where girls are not seen as equals with men. This is very upsetting
to Tula because she loves to read, imagine and wants so badly to go out and
explore the world and write poems. In Cuba though she is not able to do any of
those things and is expected to be a proper young lady who does not have a
mind, as Tula sees it. She is expected to marry and live with the husband her
grandfather arrangers for her. As Tula waits for the arrangement she spends a
lot of her time with the Nuns because there she is able to read books and
especially the poetry of Heredia. She is also able to write plays for the
orphans to act out and dreams of living them out. She sneaks to a storyteller
to hear stories and meets a man named Sab who is in love with a woman Carlota who
is in love with a wealthy man who is only interested in her money. Together Sab
and Carlota teach Tula about love and what it is and what it really isn’t and
that marriage without love is just another form of slavery. Tula then catches a
ride to Havana and learns to become independent and continues to write poetry.
In the end of the story Tula is happy and has traveled to the French river port
of Bordeaux and writes poetry in the window with a feather pen.
Cultural Analysis:
This is a novel written in prose. Margarita Engle the author uses her words to
create imagines of what it must have been like to grow up in Cuba as a young
girl. The feeling of being trapped comes across as you read the story. Her word
choice and use of free verse poetry help the reader get a feel of the culture
and what life was like in Cuba during these times. The culture is also
described in the food that Caridad was making, the way she inserted Spanish words
into the text, and the description of farm that her grandfather owned. This is
a powerful story told in an interesting way.
Editorial Reviews:
Booklist
*Starred Review* Engle’s historical novel in verse is a
fictionalized biography of the nineteenth-century Cuban abolitionist poet
Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, known as Tula. Told in multiple voices, Engle’s
elegant verses, rich in simile and metaphor, focus on the poet’s life as a
teenager. Forbidden access to books because her mother believes reading and
writing make women unattractive, Tula escapes to a nearby convent. There, she
discovers volumes by the rebel poet José María de Heredia, whose words feed her
own rebellious spirit, which is exemplified by her rejection of two arranged marriages.
I long to write like Heredia, she muses, but what do I know of great cities and
the wide lives of men? I’m just a silenced girl. My stories are simple tales of
emotion. Seen as an outcast and a madwoman, she is sent to the country, where
she falls in love with Sab, a freed slave, and continues to write about
equality for slaves and for women. Engle’s richly evocative verses conjure up a
time when women, like slaves, were regarded as property to be sold into
loveless marriages. This is the context for a splendid novel that celebrates
one brave woman who rejected a constrained existence with enduring words that
continue to sing of freedom. Grades 7-12, --Michael Cart --This text refers to
the Hardcover edition.
Reviews
A Pura Belpré Honor Book
Winner of the 2014 PEN Literary Award for Best Young Adult
Book
VOYA Top Shelf for Middle School Readers 2013 list
2014 International Latino Book Award Honorable Mention
An NCTE Notable Book for the Language Arts
An ALSC Notable Children's Book for 2013
YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults
* "This is the context for a splendid novel that
celebrates one brave woman who rejected a constrained existence with enduring
words that continue to sing of freedom."
—Booklist, starred review
"An inspiring fictionalized verse biography of one of
Cuba's most influential writers. . . . Fiery and engaging, a powerful portrait
of the liberating power of art."
—Kirkus
"In these poems, their longings for freedom, their
fears, their loves, and their heartaches are elegantly crafted through images
that make the island of Cuba and its people vividly real and connect them to
the hearts of contemporary readers."
—Bulletin
"A quick and powerful read worthy of addition to any
collection. The verses speak of tolerance and acceptance beyond the context of
this story."
—VOYA 4Q 2P M J S
"Engle adds another superb title to her lengthening
list of historical novels in verse. . . . This is a must-have for . . . anyone
in need of a comparative study to our own country's struggle with
slavery."
—School Library Journal
Other books that are recommended:
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