November & December 2020: Shared Meals / Food-Based Gatherings

[QNPoohBear]

Freedom Soup
focuses more on the meal prep and the history behind the meal but there is a scene of sharing the soup at the end.

A young Haitian-American girl helps her grandmother make soup for the new year. Her grandmother teaches her the history behind Freedom Soup. It dates back to the time of slavery when the slaves rose up in rebellion. Each ingredient is put in the soup with care and love

The author shares a recipe and the story behind the story. Her husband's family is Haitian and her mother-in-law made this soup. The author and her husband make sure they pass the story down to their son to preserve and share with future generations.

I really liked this story. It's simple, almost poetic, but for older children because of the slavery and Revolution scenes. The girl learns to appreciate all her people have been through and celebrate her freedom.

The people in the illustrations are drawn a little more abstract than I would like but the illustrator did an amazing job with perspective, making me feel like I'm peering into the room. They also did a great job conveying motion. This is a great book to read to bring awareness of cultural traditions and what Haitians had to endure before they were free.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Dumplings for Lili Adorable! Follow Lili as she makes her way back and forth, up and down, in her apartment building, fetching ingredients to help her (very diverse group of) neighbors complete dishes from their native countries. Her Nai Nai is making baos, but needs cabbage; Babcia is making perogi and has cabbage but needs potatoes; Granma is making beef patties, she has potatoes but needs garlic; Abuela is making tamales, she has garlic but needs cumin; Nonna is making ravioli but needs olive oil; and Teta is making fatayer and has everything she needs. At the end, the grandmother and honerary grandmothers come together with Lili for a "dumpling party" and there's a special suprise for Lili (view spoiler)[ Mama and Papa come home with her new baby brother. (hide spoiler)] I do wish recipes for ALL the dishes were included, but the Nai Nai's Bao recipe is charmingly written.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

The sequence reminds me of a folk tale motif, seen for example in the award winning but controversial One Fine Day. Lili's story sounds just wonderful.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Cheryl is a gaining a handle on stressors. wrote: "The sequence reminds me of a folk tale motif"

Yes, it does have that flavor to it. I hope you can read it :-)

[QNPoohBear]

I need to save this thread for future edible book challenges!

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I just thoroughly enjoyed Eat Your U.S. History Homework: Recipes for Revolutionary Minds. I have written a review. I'm also going to look for more in the series and others by the author.

[QNPoohBear]

Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao
Amy loves to eat bao. She could eat them all day and sometimes does. She is not so good at making them. Her whole family is great at making bao except for Amy. She finally comes up with the perfect solution.

This is a sweet picture book with a little lesson. If at first you don't succeed try try again. Amy ends up sharing her bao with her schoolmates and teachers.

Includes recipe.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Kathryn wrote: "Everybody Serves Soup As a story, I liked this one better than Everybody Cooks Rice. I liked the holiday setting and the idea of the girl trying to find a heartfelt gi..."

I was able to read Rice on my library's Overdrive/Libby, and I liked it well enough that I plan to read the others on openlibrary.org. I'm always looking for recipes that are wholesome, doable, and interesting.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Cheryl wrote: "I was able to read Rice on my library's Overdrive/Libby, and I liked it well enough that I plan to read the others on openlibrary.org. I'm always looking for recipes that are wholesome, doable, and interesting."

Oh, yay! I'm glad you enjoyed it and hope these books lead to some kitchen inspiration and delicious meals.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

A Feast for Joseph is a remarkable book about an Acholi boy from a refugee camp who, now that he is safe in a city, misses all the people with whom he ate kwon and dek ngor. The co-author, OD Bonny, is also an Acholi who was a refugee. But the sad parts of the book are subtle... the story itself is very universal as Joseph tries to collect far-away relatives, neighbors, even his teacher, to come eat with him and his mom. Finally ...

Well. I recommend this, so I won't say more. Glossary included in the back. Vibrant and extremely appealing pictures. If your library doesn't have this, I recommend suggesting that they buy it to get 'diversity points' for refugees from South Sudan and Uganda.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Cheryl wrote: "A Feast for Joseph is a remarkable book about an Acholi boy from a refugee camp who, now that he is safe in a city, misses all the people with whom he ate kwon and dek ngor. The co-..."

Sounds very powerful! Thanks for posting.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Reviewed elsewhere, but needs to be on this list, too: Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun's Thanksgiving Story

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Kathryn wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "A Feast for Joseph is a remarkable book about an Acholi boy from a refugee camp who, now that he is safe in a city, misses all the people with whom he ate kwon and de..."

I should make it clear that it's not *too* powerful. As in, it's much more about fun than it is about hardship, and is suitable for most children.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Cheryl wrote: "
I should make it clear that it's not *too* powerful. As in, it's much more about fun than it is about hardship, and is suitable for most children."

Thank you for clarifying. Sounds like a great balance for young children. I'll see if our library has it :-)

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Akin to Thank You, Omu! is Chik Chak Shabbat, but it's definitely not redundant. The cholent recipe is labeled vegetarian, but if I understand correctly it's actually vegan. I gave the book five stars.

I also just remembered another book that I think would fit this theme, by the marvelous team of Baylor and Parnall: The Table Where Rich People Sit. What does it mean to be rich?

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Cheryl wrote: "Akin to Thank You, Omu! is Chik Chak Shabbat, but it's definitely not redundant. The cholent recipe is labeled vegetarian, but if I understand correctly it's actuall..."

Sounds great! Adding it to my list!

[QNPoohBear]

Chik Chak Shabbat is on my TBR list! I couldn't find some books yesterday and some were checked out.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I just found Feast for 10 in a Little Free Library and it is fantastic. A warm, happy family, shopping and cooking together, eating wholesomely. Counting up to 10 and back down to 1 again to emphasize the theme.

[QNPoohBear]

The Rosh Hashanah Recipe is a really good one. The kids pick apples and play cooking show to decide what new thing they should bake with their apples for Rosh Hashanah.

Other good Jewish shared meals/food based books are the Talia stories by Linda Elovitz Marshall

Talia and the Rude Vegetables
Talia and the Very YUM Kippur
Talia and the Haman-tushies

and
Chik Chak Shabbat

Other good diverse books
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story
Dim Sum for Everyone!

[QNPoohBear]

Pumpkin Soup is a good one to read this time of year. It's about friendship and learning to cooperate in order to get along. Not sure how I feel about anthropomorphic squirrels but the illustrations were very nice and the story is cute. A recipe for pumpkin soup is included.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen. José Andrés story is admirable and inspiring. I love how he uses food to bring people together and provide hope during times of crisis. I appreciate that the story is sensitively handled for younger readers involving, as it does, some horrific natural disasters such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and the hurricane in Puerto Rico in 2017 -- text and illustration convey some destruction and some unhappy people but it is not as graphic or gut-wrenching as it could have been, and the focus is on the smiles and hope that José's World Central Kitchen provides to the people in need. The Author's Note provides more biographical information about José and an extensive Selected Bibliography, which is greatly appreciated. I can't quite award five stars because, just personally, I felt like I wanted to know a bit more about José' childhood and family -- what and who inspired his humanitarian efforts-- and his personality didn't come alive for me (we know he's a kind and enthusiastic chef who wants to help people, but I don't feel like I really got to "meet" him in the way that I feel with the subjects of some of my favorite biographies). Still, definitely recommended if you are looking for books about the power of food, community and caring. (I feel like Phil Rosenthal would love this book!)

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Added! Too bad we don't get to know him better... it seems to me that children are most likely to be inspired if the role models shared with them are concrete real people, not just icons. Still sounds like an important book, though, and I'm glad that all my larger libraries have it.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Cheryl wrote: "Added! Too bad we don't get to know him better... it seems to me that children are most likely to be inspired if the role models shared with them are concrete real people, not just icons. Still sou..."

I hope you will enjoy it if you get a chance to read it. Really amazing work that he did. I love books that show children how one person's idea and passion can make such a difference and inspire others to do the same. I hope his personality will come alive more for you than it did for me (maybe it was just me!)

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Just learned there is another book about José and his World Central Kitchen: José Feeds the World: How a Famous Chef Feeds Millions of People in Need around the World. I'm going to try to read that one for comparison.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I'd be glad to learn which you prefer.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Cheryl wrote: "I'd be glad to learn which you prefer."

I liked the second one better. It explains more about how his childhood experiences and family helped shape both his love of cooking and his humanitarian spirit. Hope you can find a copy! José Feeds the World: How a Famous Chef Feeds Millions of People in Need around the World

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I've put a hold on it, thanks!

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

When We Gather (Ostadahlisiha): A Cherokee Tribal Feast is lovely. Who knew that a community could feast in spring, on Wild Onions, eggs, biscuits, corn.

(But of course the Cherokee (and Chickasaw) descendents of the survivors of the Trail of Tears (and other removals) needed to do what they could to strengthen cultural ties... so glad to learn that some have survived to the present day.)

Don't miss the back matter, including a recipe for the grape dumplings that mystified me as I was reading the text.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Kathryn wrote: "Everybody Serves Soup As a story, I liked this one better than Everybody Cooks Rice. I liked the holiday setting and the idea of the girl trying to find a heartfelt gi..."

I enjoyed the holiday, snow and winter themes and the recipes for Everybody Serves Soup (and that the recipes are also presented at the back). I do not really like how the human characters are illustrated, but text and images work well together and thus a four star rating for me.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Adjacent to this theme is a book I want you all to check out, Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods. I spent several joyful hours reading it over several days.

[QNPoohBear]

Kathryn wrote: "Salma the Syrian Chef4.5 STARS This is wonderful! I'm pressed for time, so read the many other excellent reviews here for all the details of what makes this so special. The sense of..."

I really liked this one too. The youngest readers will enjoy a story about a young chef wanting to make a favorite dish, while older readers will develop and understanding of what it means to be a refugee in a new land navigating a new life of language, jobs, home, shopping, food and missing the home they loved.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Bone Button Borscht


Text and images are lovely and engaging, a delightful Ukrainian Jewish variant of Stone Soup, where instead of stones the community building ingredients are bone buttons and the soup is a bright red traditional borscht. A five star book for me although lowered to four stars since especially for Stone Soup variants, and author's note should be a given.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[QNPoohBear]

Let Me Fix You a Plate: A Tale of Two Kitchens

This wasn't quite what I was expecting but it sure is a story I can relate to. Every year a family travels South to visit the girl's grandparents. First there's Mawmaw and Pawpaw, Dad's parents, on a mountain in West Virginia. The family arrives late at night. Mawmaw opens the door and says "Let me fix you a plate." I can relate so much to this. My Italian grandmother always had to feed us FIRST before we could do anything else. Sunday dinners were helf after a ride of only an hour and a half when any reasonable person could not possibly be hungry unless they didn't eat anything all morning. In Mawmaw's kitchen in the morning there's sausage sizzling in the skillet, blackberry jam on toast and tractors on cups. In my Nonnie's kitchen in the morning there was blueberry muffins or blueberry muffin cake or blueberry pancakes and for my cousins and siblings and anyone who woke up early, sometimes there was Mickey Mouse waffles. In the story Dad and Pawpaw drink coffee with cream, no sugar, the same way from the same cups, emphasizing their father-son connection.

In Mawmaw's kitchen in the afternoon, the girls help stack vanilla wafer cookies, Mawmaw pours the pudding and the unnamed narrator covers the top with slices of banana. Then they eat it all!

Three days later they leave so early it's still night and drive and drive to Florida to Abuela and Abuelo's house. I can also relate to having one set of ethnic grandparents and one set of "American" grandparents. In the story and in my life, the ethnic family home is filled with aunts, uncles and cousins talking all at once and preparing a delicious meal. (We weren't actually allowed to help. The two old ladies , my Nonnie and her sister, did it all.) In this story the family is greeted by Abuela who says "Hay comidita adentro. Commense." ("There's food inside. Come and eat.") In Abuela's midnight kitchen, the aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, main character, her mom and sisters gather. The girl crunches tostones, scoops arroz and slurps flan, falling asleep at the table. Outside Abuela's morning kitchen, the girl picks naranjas (oranges) with Abuelo in the yard. They drink them as juice and eat arepas with queso blanco. Mom helps her mom fry the corn flour cakes cooking and chatting the whole time. In the evening, Tio Elmer makes coquito, rum punch, the grown-ups drink that looks like eggnog but doesn't taste like it. The girl hides behind the couch with her book while the cousins and aunts and uncles dance salsa and merengue. Abuelo finds her and brings her tostones. I was just in the Spanish grocery store and had a frame of reference for some of these foods right there in my head. Now I have to go back and do some shopping. This book makes me hungry!

Three days later they leave and drive and drive and drive back to their house in the city. They stare at the scenery, tummies full and hearts fuller, already missing the salsa, sausage, toast, tostones, (family), naranjas, bananas, (etc.) When they reach home everyone is hungry again and so Mommy mixes flour and Daddy beats eggs. "I" set the syrup on the table. Mommy's midnight kitchen has bright lights and plantain pressers next to potato mashers. ... The air smells like waffles. Daddy works the iron and Mommy forks waffles onto plates and their three little pollitos, hungry little chicks gobble them up.

Each set of endpapers has a seek and find. The front has West Virginia and the back Florida. You have to locate all the items in Mawmaw's kitchen and in Abuela's kitchen. It's harder than it looks. I like those illustrations but the people are awkward looking and out of proportion sometimes.

I truly enjoyed this book and it could be scenes from my childhood. The states are different and the food is different but the love is the same.