Book Review: YUM! !MMMM! !QUE RICO! AMERICAS' SPROUTINGS

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mora, Pat. 2007. Ill. by Rafael Lopez. Yum! !MmMm! !Que Rico Americas’ Sproutings. Lee & Low Books. ISBN-13: 9781584302711

2. PLOT SUMMARY

In Yum! !MmMm! !Que Rico Americas’ Sproutings, Pat Mora introduces foods native to the Americas with beautiful Haiku poems which describe them in mouthwatering detail. From blueberries which “fill your mouth with blue” to chili peppers with their “green mouth fire”, and chocolate described as “brown magic” which “melts on your tongue,” foods native to America are explored.  Corn, pecans, prickly pear, cranberries, peanuts, papaya, tomatoes, pumpkin, and vanilla are all described in mouth-watering detail. Ending with vanilla ice cream running down your face, this book describes fourteen different types of food native to the Americas, and gives details about their particular region of origin and history.

3. CRITICAL ANALISYS

Pat Mora made me hungry! She did an excellent job combining the beautiful lyrics and cadence of Haiku poetry with an exploration of foods native to the Americas. Each food is introduced with an amusing poem such as the one accompanying the smiling slice of bread with peanut butter on it: “Peanut- Smear nutty butter, then jelly. Gooey party, my sandwich and me.” The setting of this book of poetry is anywhere in North, Central or South America, although it has a definite tropical flair which is more reminiscent of the warmer regions of the Americas.

Cultural markers are evident in the Spanish words sprinkled throughout the narrative, as evidenced in this phrase from the Haiku poem about the prickly pear: “cactus fruit becomes syrup and dulces. Surprise!” Multicultural themes are evident also in the artistically arranged compositions of foods and in the complimentary colors which make the foods stand out in delicious appeal. The humans in the illustrations wear colorful, clothing and have black hair and a variety of skin colors and features common to Hispanic cultures. The animal characters are shown with bold colors and designs unique to the Hispanic culture which remind me of what one would find in a Mexican market. Yum! !MmMm! !Que Rico Americas’ Sproutings is a winner of the Pura Belpre award.

Artist Rafael Lopez has used brightly colored acrylic on wood-panel illustrations to create images of a smiling sun and moon, dancing pineapple and many other humorous pictures which make this book fun to read or just look at. While the factual information at the edges of the pages might lose the interest of the younger group of the pre-K through 3^rd graders that this book is recommended for, they will certainly be attracted by its vibrant colors and fun illustrations. This book will capture the attention of children who hear it, and make the adults who are reading it, ready to run to the kitchen or the nearest farmers market.

4. REVIEWS/EXCERPTS

CHILDRENS LITERATURE: “Boldly-colored illustrations, acrylic on wooden panels, accompany poems lauding the attributes of foods native to the Americas. Each poem conveys the essence of the subject foodstuff.” “Each two-page spread includes a detailed sidebar. Some readers might just enjoy the haiku and the wonderful drawings. The additional information is interesting”.

KIRKUS REVIEWS: “Haiku celebrating the diversity of edible plants native to the Americas-blueberries, chocolate, prickly pears, pecans and more. Each spread includes an informative paragraph explaining the probable origin, history and some trivia for the plant described in the poem.

5. CONNECTIONS

Yum! !MmMm! !Que Rico Americas’ Sproutings would be an awesome book to read during a poetry unit. This could be read at the beginning or end. Students could be invited to create their own poetry after reading this book. In fact, the subject could even be about food. I would gather a quantity of “kid foods” such as pizza, chips, peanut butter, etc and invite students to taste them, then write a haiku poem about them and illustrate it.

Yum! !MmMm! !Que Rico Americas’ Sproutings would also fit quite well into a Social Studies unit about natural resources. After reading the book, students could collect pictures of other natural resources native to their own region and write Haiku poetry about them.

Other children’s books by Pat Mora:

Mora, Pat. Book Fiesta!: Celebrate Children's Day/Book Day; Celebremos El dia de los ninos/El dia de los libros. ISBN-10: 0061288772
Mora, Pat. Gracias / Thanks. ISBN-10: 1600602584
Mora, Pat. Tomas and the Library Lady. ISBN-10: 0375803491