Yum! Mmmm!Que Rico!: Americas' Sproutings

Mora, Pat. 2007. YUM! ¡ MmMm! ¡ QUE RICO! AMERICAS’ SPROUTINGS. Ilus. Lopez, Rafael. New York: Lee & Low Books Inc. ISBN: 13: 978-1-58430-271-1.
Summary:
Mora’s story is a delightful combination of facts and poetry put into a picture book. Each page contains information on the origin of many foods that are native foods to America including the Spanish and English names and give a rich history to even the youngest reader about foods that are a part of Americans lives. The short but very informative section about the food has very interesting facts that connect to readers of all ages. Mora then takes the rich history and creates the most wonderful Haiku for each page. This Japanese form of poetry, Haiku, is a wonderful surprise. The fifteen Haiku poems connect children to the food through the wonderful words such as “Brown magic melts on your tongue” as the reader learns about chocolate, and the fiery heat from the chiles as “dad bites, green mouth- fire.” Mora’s words feed the mind with knowledge and Lopez’s illustrations are a feast for the eyes. Mora says “I love variety,” and “I like diversity in people and poetry,” and YUM! MmMm! QUE RICO! has both.

Analysis:
In Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico!: Americas’ Sproutings, Mora begins her book with a brief acknowledgement to those who helped with the authenticity of the food and their origins used in this picture book. Mora, also used “numerous books, dictionaries, and Internet sources” to have the most authentic and correct information for her readers. The Spanish language used was to support the authenticity of the information and add to the reader’s knowledge of the origin of the variety of foods introduced in the book. The foods chosen represent many areas of the Latino culture. Mora included blueberries from North America, chilies from Mexico, and papayas from Central America and potatoes that are “native to the Andean mountains of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador in South America.” There is as much diversity in the origins of the food as there is in the diversity of the people.
Rafael Lopez’s bright and vivid colors complement the words beautifully. It is the pictures that bring the Haiku to life. When “dad bites the green mouth – fire” the picture shows a man with dark brown skin and a western style hat with tears coming from his eyes and fire out of his mouth holding the chile in his hand. In this picture the reader sees a man and child experiencing the fiery delight of the chile that makes you think of Mexico, the origin of the “chilli.” Lopez’s landscapes of dry lands with tall mesas and hills are also seen in the Haikus titled “Corn”, and “Prickly Pear”, while other landscapes show rich soil, green fields or tropical landscapes showing the variety of cultures as well as foods featured in the Haiku. Lopez’s bright colors and attention to details adds to the authentic but whimsical feel of the book. Rafael Lopez’s style and use of color is influenced by his own background of growing up in Mexico City where he enjoyed the rich cultural heritage and the native color of the street life. His cultural influences are seen in images on each colorful page. Mora and Lopez have created a picture book that teaches and entertains the mind and delights the eyes. The words offer interesting facts and trivia about a variety of foods and the illustrations bring them to life.. As Pat Mora says, “The world’s variety is amazing – and delicious.” Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico!: Americas’ Sproutings is a wonderful example of variety and diversity for children and adults to experience.

Reviews & Awards
Book Links (A.L.A.) 01/01/09 Horn Book 04/01/08
Book Links starred 01/01/08 Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.) 01/01/08
Booklist starred 12/01/07 School Library Journal 09/01/07
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 12/01/07 Wilson's Children 10/01/10
Booklist starred (December 1, 2007 (Vol. 104, No. 7))
Grades 1-4. This inventive stew of food haiku celebrates the indigenous foods of the Americas. Each of the 13 poems appears on a gloriously colorful double-page spread, accompanied by a sidebar that presents information about the origin of the food. From blueberries to prickly pears to corn, the acrylic-on-wood-panel illustrations burst with vivid colors and stylized Mexican flair. The poems capture the flavor of the item in a way children can easily understand—Chocolate: Fudge, cake, pie, cookies. / Brown magic melts on your tongue. / Happy, your eyes dance; Pineapple: A stiff, spiky hat / on thick prickly skin, inside / hide syrupy rings. The print of the text in the sidebars is too small, but otherwise this will provide lots and lots of lip-smacking fun that teachers can use to supplement social studies and language arts units; they can also share one poem at a time, between other subjects. An author’s note, which addresses lingering scientific debate about the geographical origins of some of the featured foods, also includes a warm celebration of diversity: We do know that all these plants were grown and enjoyed . . . long before Christopher Columbus or any other Europeans had ever tasted such wonderful foods. The world’s variety is amazing—and delicious.

Horn Book (Spring 2008)
Fourteen haiku celebrate blueberries, chiles, chocolate, corn, pineapples, and other foods from North and South America. The language is light and kid-friendly: "Round roly-poly / squirts seedy, juicy splatter. / Red bursts in your mouth." Sidebars provide notes on each food. Acrylic on wood-panel illustrations dance with color and whimsy, complementing the high-spirited, playful descriptions of food in all its delicious diversity. Bib.

Kirkus Review (September 15, 2007)
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. (The word pecan, for example, comes from a French word meaning, "nut to be cracked on a rock.") L-pez'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)
Library Media Connection (February 2008)
… This is sure to be a hit with almost every reader. The curriculum connections are many, food, haiku, and geography. Teachers and media specialists will love having this book in their collections. Recommended. Ruie Chehak, Library Media Specialist, Sallie Jones Elementary School, Punta Gorda, Florida

Connections:
This is a new book to me, but one that will be added to my library this summer. There are many educational connections to use with this book. Connections can be made in Social Studies and Language Arts (reading, writing, and spelling).
I would use this book to introduce nonfiction and the Japanese form of poetry known as Haiku.
The state standards include more poetry in the curriculum and exposure to nonfiction text for first graders.
Making a list of foods and locating information about the foods begins the research process for young children. I can see collaborating with the art teacher to look at the influence of illustrators own cultural heritage on their artistic style. After researching the food use the information to write a Haiku. Have students illustrate their Haiku and make a class book or children could just make a list of foods and write a Haiku about one.