Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico! Americas' Sproutings [Hardcover]

Pat Mora (Author), Rafael Lopez (Illustrator)

Book Description

Peanuts, blueberries, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, and more-here is a luscious collection of haiku celebrating foods native to the Americas. Brimming with imagination and fun, these poems capture the tasty essence of foods that have delighted, united, and enriched our lives for centuries. Exuberant illustrations bring to life the delicious spirit of the haiku, making Yum! ¡Mmm! ¡Qué Rico! America's Sproutings an eye-popping, mouth-watering treat. Open it and dig in!

Editorial Reviews

From 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
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Review

"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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Lee & Low Books (October 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584302712
• ISBN-13: 978-1584302711
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 9.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #770,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pat Mora, born in El Paso, Texas, is an award-winning poet and author of books for adults, teens, and children. Her awards include a Poetry Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Golden Kite Award, American Library Association Notable Book Awards, and honorary doctorates. A former teacher and university administrator, she is the founder of the family literacy initiative El día de los niños / El día de los libros, Children's Day / Book Day (Día). The year-long commitment to linking all children to books, languages and cultures, and of sharing what Pat calls "bookjoy," culminates in celebrations across the country in April. Pat lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico and invites you to visit her at www.patmora.com and http://sharebookjoy.blogspot.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children, August 15, 2008

By 

Yana V. Rodgers "econkids.rutgers.edu" (New Brunswick, NJ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico! Americas' Sproutings (Hardcover)

Already beginning in Kindergarten, content standards across the nation include economics, and the topic of natural resources is usually one of the first that students learn. What better way to introduce children to natural resources than this delightful book, with its interesting discussions, vivid illustrations, multicultural characters, and illuminating facts. The reader learns how chocolate is made, how to harvest pecans, the importance of potatoes as an international food source, the reason why tomatoes are considered a vegetable, where papayas come from, and why the United States is the world's largest consumer of vanilla. While older children may be more drawn to the fact-filled backgrounds of these food items, readers of all ages will appreciate the accompanying haiku poetry. At first glance this book appears to be about food, but lurking within are valuable economics lessons about natural resources, consumers, producers, and international trade.

5.0 out of 5 stars Querico!, August 3, 2009

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T. B. Guinan (Wichita Falls, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico! Americas' Sproutings (Hardcover)

This book is a great addition to the Language Arts classroom! Very bright and colorful and appealing to kiddos. Traditional 5-7-5 haikus about grown products from the Americas. Great information about each product. Kids will definitely appreciate a new, fun way to read non-fiction.

Use to teach main idea, author's purpose, text structure. Cross-curricular - natural resources, Americas, culture, fruits and vegetables.

Bluebonnet nominee 2009-2010.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars spanglish, January 30, 2011

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Shopper "Funshopper" - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico! Americas' Sproutings (Hardcover)

linguists everywhere disagree with mixing languages while speaking or reading to a child. This book does just that. I ended up donating it to the library.