Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Qué Rico!: Americas’ Sproutings
Bibliography
Mora, P. 2007. YUM! ¡MMMM! ¡QUẺ RICO!: AMERICAS’ SPROUTINGS. Ill by Rafael Lớpez. New York, NY. Lee and Low Books Inc. ISBN 9781584302711
Plot Summary
The main topics in this book are fruits and vegetables from around the world. Blueberry, chile, chocolate, corn, cranberry, papaya, peanut, pecan, pineapple, potato, prickly pear, pumpkin, tomato and vanilla. All the vegetables and fruits have an origin and purpose in this book.
Critical Analysis (Including Cultural Markers)
YUM! ¡MMMM! ¡QUẺ RICO!: AMERICAS’ SPROUTINGS is a collection of Haiku poems depicting fruits and vegetables. Each poem has a title of a fruit or vegetable and the first letter is the same color of the title, which is the same color of the vegetable. The structure of each poem has three lines and one stanza, usually typical of a Haiku poem. The poems do not have end rhyme, repetition, or alliteration. However some of the poems do contain onomatopoeia (“Mmmm!”, “pops!”, “Yum!”), which appeals to the sense of hearing to the readers. Some of the poems also use metaphors to help the reader create an image of the fruit or vegetable. For example, “Dad bites green mouth-fire” Meaning the chile is very hot or spicy. Most of the poems have metaphors to help the reader visualize the food.
YUM! ¡MMMM! ¡QUẺ RICO!: AMERICAS’ SPROUTINGS also contains a descriptive paragraph for each food on the left side of the page. Which includes factual information about the fruit or vegetable. Providing the reader with more history about the fruit or vegetable in the poem.
One Hispanic culture marker found in the book is the languages being used. For example in the poem titled “Prickly Pear” the word dulces is used to describe the sweet taste of the prickly pear’s fruit (tunas and nopales) is also used in the factual information paragraph, which are Spanish for the red fruits on the cactus. In the poem titled “Chile” the author uses the words “chilli, chile and chili”. The word “chilli" is a Nahuatl word, while “chile” is a Spanish word and “chili” is an English word. Throughout some of the other poems the author also uses other words from other languages to provide the reader with where the word originated.
Another Hispanic culture marker that the author provided is the mention of other cultures like: Nahuatl (Aztecs), North American Native Americans, Pueblo Indians, African American (George Washington Carver), French, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia (Aymara Indians), Ecuador and Mexico (Totonac Indians). The readers can make a connection to different places where the fruits and vegetables originated.
Rafeal Lopez’s colorful illustrations provide many excellent cultural markers. The skin-tone that he utilized on the majority of his human characters are brown skinned. The accessories that the characters are using also connect to the Mexican indigenous people. For example, in the poem “Chile” the dad is using a “sombrero” and in the poem titled “Corn” the people are using a “zarape” to use as a ground covering. Another cultural marker connected to Mexican culture is the black hair, braids and pony tails on the human characters. With the exception to the character with red hair in the poem titled “Chocolate”, all other characters depict indigenous characteristics.
The settings on some of the poems also connect to Mexican culture. For example, in the poem titled “Corn” the natives are eating outside, and the illustration depicts an adobe home. In addition, in the poem titled “Papaya” the characters are in a forest with a straw like hut for a home. The traditional Mexican foods depicted in the poem titled “Corn” also connect to Mexican culture. The characters are eating corn “tortillas” with “frijoles” (beans).
Another culture marker that connects to Hispanic culture are the colorful animals in the illustrations. The reader can infer that some of them are “albrijes” or animal spiritual creatures that are often depicted in Mexican culture.
Overall the book is filled with authentic Hispanic culture, as well as other cultures. The author uses the fruits and vegetables from all around the world to bring cultures together.
Review Excerpts
Americas Award for Children’s Literature 2008
ALSC Notable Children’s Book by the ALA
Bank Street College of Education’s Best 2008
Kirkus Review: 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.”) López’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)
Connections
Fruit Bowl by Mark Hoffman
Teachers and librarians can connect this book to life science and the life cycle of plants and what plants need to survive.
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