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Yum! ¡Mmmm! ¡Qué Rico! Americas' Sproutings
Smear nutty butter,
then jelly. Gooey party,
my sandwich and me.
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! Mmmm! Que rico! an eye-popping, mouth-watering treat. Open it and dig in!
then jelly. Gooey party,
my sandwich and me.
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! Mmmm! Que rico! an eye-popping, mouth-watering treat. Open it and dig in!
32 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2007
4 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Pat Mora
86 books97 followersPat Mora (born 1942) is a female Mexican-American author and poet. Pat Mora was born in El Paso, Texas. She is married and has 3 grown children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
February 19, 2021
Learn about the foods that are native to Central and South America.
Fun Illustrations by award-winner Rafael Lopez and Haiku's by award-winning author Pat Mora combine to give you a taste of cuisine, what the food is, how it grows and what it is, in this Bilingual tool of fruits and vegetables, including Blueberries, Chile peppers, Chocolate, Corn, Cranberries, Papaya, Peanuts, pecans, pineapple, potatoes, prickly pear, pumpkin, tomatoes and vanilla...Yum! Mmm! Indeed!
Fun Illustrations by award-winner Rafael Lopez and Haiku's by award-winning author Pat Mora combine to give you a taste of cuisine, what the food is, how it grows and what it is, in this Bilingual tool of fruits and vegetables, including Blueberries, Chile peppers, Chocolate, Corn, Cranberries, Papaya, Peanuts, pecans, pineapple, potatoes, prickly pear, pumpkin, tomatoes and vanilla...Yum! Mmm! Indeed!
October 22, 2017
I generally prefer stories to poetry, but this was a very nice introduction to foods that many American audience members might not know.
December 1, 2015
“Yum! MmMm! Que Rico! America’s Sproutings / Brotes de la Américas“, written by Pat Mora and illustrated by Rafael López, is available in both English and Spanish editions, although I will be reviewing the latter. In this wonderful collection of poetry, Pat Mora takes us on a gastronomic journey of the Americas through a series of fun haikus. Each poem focuses on a crop native to these continents, culminating in a full harvest of celebration and praise. The descriptions of food and cuisine alongside the bright, multicolored illustrations at once awaken the senses while guiding readers through the history of agriculture in the Americas. Mora introduces her book by acknowledging the influence of her anthropologist husband who teaches about the origins of agriculture, an inspiration that certainly resonates throughout her collection. Readers will undoubtedly revel in this delicious feast of knowledge, art and poetry.
Each page is dedicated to a specific food. The poems on each page follow the structure of Japanese haikus, a form of poetry in which each poem consists of seventeen syllables. At the bottom of each page Mora also provides a paragraph of background information about where the food can be found, where it originates , and how various cultures tend to prepare it. This book is most suitable for children ages 7-12. Although the long, informative paragraphs on each page might be more interesting for older readers, younger readers will surely appreciate the anthropomorphic images of, for instance, a dancing pineapple and a smiling piece of toast. The collection has an unfettered tone of cheer and delight that will spread to readers of all ages.
As Lee and Low Books states, “Brimming with imagination and fun, these poems capture the tasty essence of foods that have delighted, united, and enriched our lives for centuries.” Indeed, Mora’s poems as well as López’s illustrations emphasize not only the wonderful pleasure of food, but also the cultural, societal and familial importance related to sharing food with others. The beautiful illustrations are done with acrylic on wood panels and show a range of family, friends, and community members enjoying each others’ company and various foods. Although the featured foods come from across the Americas, North and South, many of the illustrations seem to evoke the warm climate of Central America.
According to Lee and Low Books, illustrator Rafael López “grew up in Mexico City, and his art is strongly influenced by the work of Mexican muralists.” Additionally, “he has created many large murals for public spaces, including the Urban Art Trail Project in downtown San Diego.” The images are certainly reminiscent of mural art with their bright colors, mesmerizing patterns and attention-grabbing compositions that depict scenes from every-day life (albeit with a twist of the imaginary).
Within the paragraphs of background information provided on each page, Mora also includes etymological tidbits on how these foods got their names. For example, the pecan was called “pacane” by the French, which means “nut that you must open with a rock.”
Mora does not shy away from discussing the influence of European colonizers on the peoples of the Americas. A useful resource for teaching about history, conquest, and colonization, Mora also describes how the crops were used both before and after European settlers arrived. In the back of the book she includes a note to readers where she states that people of the Americas enjoyed these foods long before Christopher Columbus or any other European arrived. This is a valuable topic to mull over with students during the Thanksgiving season. While we use this month of November as an occasion to show thanks and appreciation to our loved ones, and to enjoy our favorite foods, let us also use this month as an opportunity to critique the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday in the Americas. It is always an important time for better understanding the history, traditions and ongoing experiences of indigenous peoples.
Moreover, in her note to readers, Mora explains her love for diversity amongst people and within poetry: “Me gusta la diversidad en la gente y en la poesía.” She adds that one of the reasons the haiku poems were so fun to write is that they permit the creator to jump from subject to subject, from image to image, given their short and sweet format: “El haiku invita en saltar de imagen en imagen.” To embrace her love for diversity, Mora uses the haiku poems to cover a wide range of foods, countries and cultures. As we are all always looking for ways to diversify children’s literature, I’m sure readers will appreciate Mora’s open celebration of diversity.
To bring this style into the classroom, the concise, easy-to-digest format of Mora’s haikus could easily inspire a poetry lesson where students write their own haikus about their favorite foods. As a blogger from Wildrosereader states,
A classroom teacher could certainly use Mora’s book as an inspiration for a classroom poetry-writing activity. Imagine a teacher bringing in foods like kiwi fruit, avocados, mushrooms, mangoes, scallions, bananas, apples, and strawberries for students to observe, eat, and then write poems about. The students could describe the foods in regard to how they look, smell, feel, and taste. Students could also be encouraged to make comparisons and to use figurative language as Mora did when describing the foods and gustatory sensations.
This would be the perfect opportunity for children to delve into their creative sides and reflect upon the beauty in every-day objects. Students will also build upon their vocabulary (in English or in Spanish) as they think of descriptive words and adjectives.
Furthermore, the practice of working from a still-life model spans all different forms of art from all different cultures, and has been used by peoples for centuries and centuries.
This kind of artistic lesson could lead to other lessons on important literary or artistic figures, including Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, who also produced a series of “odes” to ordinary objects. According to Words without Borders, “We enjoy the world anew through his eyes: yes, a simple artichoke can be seen as a soldier, wrapped in armor and ready for battle; an onion is “more beautiful than a bird / with blinding feathers.”” Additionally, Mexican artist Frida Kahlo has produced a series of still-life paintings from different assortments of fruits and vegetables. Students could create still-life paintings or drawings like Kahlo’s while also learning about the influential icon. Rarely does a children’s book open the door to such a wide variety of lessons on the literary and fine arts, that can also be adapted to fit a variety of age groups.
A perfect addition to any classroom or personal library! For the complete review and additional resources, check out our Vamos a Leer blog at teachinglatinamericathroughliterature.com.
Each page is dedicated to a specific food. The poems on each page follow the structure of Japanese haikus, a form of poetry in which each poem consists of seventeen syllables. At the bottom of each page Mora also provides a paragraph of background information about where the food can be found, where it originates , and how various cultures tend to prepare it. This book is most suitable for children ages 7-12. Although the long, informative paragraphs on each page might be more interesting for older readers, younger readers will surely appreciate the anthropomorphic images of, for instance, a dancing pineapple and a smiling piece of toast. The collection has an unfettered tone of cheer and delight that will spread to readers of all ages.
As Lee and Low Books states, “Brimming with imagination and fun, these poems capture the tasty essence of foods that have delighted, united, and enriched our lives for centuries.” Indeed, Mora’s poems as well as López’s illustrations emphasize not only the wonderful pleasure of food, but also the cultural, societal and familial importance related to sharing food with others. The beautiful illustrations are done with acrylic on wood panels and show a range of family, friends, and community members enjoying each others’ company and various foods. Although the featured foods come from across the Americas, North and South, many of the illustrations seem to evoke the warm climate of Central America.
According to Lee and Low Books, illustrator Rafael López “grew up in Mexico City, and his art is strongly influenced by the work of Mexican muralists.” Additionally, “he has created many large murals for public spaces, including the Urban Art Trail Project in downtown San Diego.” The images are certainly reminiscent of mural art with their bright colors, mesmerizing patterns and attention-grabbing compositions that depict scenes from every-day life (albeit with a twist of the imaginary).
Within the paragraphs of background information provided on each page, Mora also includes etymological tidbits on how these foods got their names. For example, the pecan was called “pacane” by the French, which means “nut that you must open with a rock.”
Mora does not shy away from discussing the influence of European colonizers on the peoples of the Americas. A useful resource for teaching about history, conquest, and colonization, Mora also describes how the crops were used both before and after European settlers arrived. In the back of the book she includes a note to readers where she states that people of the Americas enjoyed these foods long before Christopher Columbus or any other European arrived. This is a valuable topic to mull over with students during the Thanksgiving season. While we use this month of November as an occasion to show thanks and appreciation to our loved ones, and to enjoy our favorite foods, let us also use this month as an opportunity to critique the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday in the Americas. It is always an important time for better understanding the history, traditions and ongoing experiences of indigenous peoples.
Moreover, in her note to readers, Mora explains her love for diversity amongst people and within poetry: “Me gusta la diversidad en la gente y en la poesía.” She adds that one of the reasons the haiku poems were so fun to write is that they permit the creator to jump from subject to subject, from image to image, given their short and sweet format: “El haiku invita en saltar de imagen en imagen.” To embrace her love for diversity, Mora uses the haiku poems to cover a wide range of foods, countries and cultures. As we are all always looking for ways to diversify children’s literature, I’m sure readers will appreciate Mora’s open celebration of diversity.
To bring this style into the classroom, the concise, easy-to-digest format of Mora’s haikus could easily inspire a poetry lesson where students write their own haikus about their favorite foods. As a blogger from Wildrosereader states,
A classroom teacher could certainly use Mora’s book as an inspiration for a classroom poetry-writing activity. Imagine a teacher bringing in foods like kiwi fruit, avocados, mushrooms, mangoes, scallions, bananas, apples, and strawberries for students to observe, eat, and then write poems about. The students could describe the foods in regard to how they look, smell, feel, and taste. Students could also be encouraged to make comparisons and to use figurative language as Mora did when describing the foods and gustatory sensations.
This would be the perfect opportunity for children to delve into their creative sides and reflect upon the beauty in every-day objects. Students will also build upon their vocabulary (in English or in Spanish) as they think of descriptive words and adjectives.
Furthermore, the practice of working from a still-life model spans all different forms of art from all different cultures, and has been used by peoples for centuries and centuries.
This kind of artistic lesson could lead to other lessons on important literary or artistic figures, including Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, who also produced a series of “odes” to ordinary objects. According to Words without Borders, “We enjoy the world anew through his eyes: yes, a simple artichoke can be seen as a soldier, wrapped in armor and ready for battle; an onion is “more beautiful than a bird / with blinding feathers.”” Additionally, Mexican artist Frida Kahlo has produced a series of still-life paintings from different assortments of fruits and vegetables. Students could create still-life paintings or drawings like Kahlo’s while also learning about the influential icon. Rarely does a children’s book open the door to such a wide variety of lessons on the literary and fine arts, that can also be adapted to fit a variety of age groups.
A perfect addition to any classroom or personal library! For the complete review and additional resources, check out our Vamos a Leer blog at teachinglatinamericathroughliterature.com.
Read
February 18, 2024The pictures are SO vibrant with so much detail in every page. The book explores the diverse flavors and ingredients found in the Americas. It mentions foods such as blueberries, chocolate, prickly pears, pecans, etc. Every page included an informational explanation of the food and its history/ origin. This is more of a 2/3 grade read.
October 6, 2018
Multicultural literature/Poetry, 2013
This book provides a fun and colorful glimpse of the flavors of the Americas. This book would be great for any k-8 classroom, but especially for classrooms with ELL students!
This book provides a fun and colorful glimpse of the flavors of the Americas. This book would be great for any k-8 classroom, but especially for classrooms with ELL students!
October 23, 2018
I was disappointed by this book. I thought that it would have more Spanish in it than it did. The illustrations were fun and engaging but that was the only thing I enjoyed about this book.
April 17, 2019
Read this one a long time ago, love the mix of haiku and information about each food plant. Fabulously bright and lively illustrations. Great that the book is available in Spanish as well.
October 7, 2019
A combination of poetry and a history lesson of foods native to the Americas.
Read
January 4, 2020The factoids about native foods from the Americas are as illuminating as the vibrant illustrations.
June 26, 2025
Read and reviewed for Muticultural/International grad school lit class
November 24, 2016
Plot Summary:
This book is a collection of haiku poems describing fourteen foods native to the Americas. Each food is celebrated with a creative and fun haiku and illustration. Informative text boxes are also included and provide readers with interesting facts about the food.
Critical Analysis:
Through haikus, fourteen indigenous foods of the Americas are named and described. The mouth-watering adjectives used to describe the tasty foods leave readers craving America’s sproutings. Because the book is a collection of foods with each food showcased by a haiku and box of informational text, there are no specific characters. However, the characters that are illustrated are happy and take delight in eating the delicious foods described. As for the content of the poems, the haikus are consistent with the food’s characteristics. For example, the chile poem is an accurate depiction of the chile pepper because the chile’s heat characteristics do make one teary eyed while at the same time bringing a delicious fire to one’s tongue. Moreover, the book is rich in cultural details that are consistent with the Hispanic culture. Through text boxes on the sidebar, snippets of information about the specific food are provided, such as, history, usage, origins, etymology, commonly found locations, growing seasons, and interesting trivia facts. The creative haiku poems and informational text boxes make reading this book enjoyable.
As for the illustrations in the book, Rafael Lopez uses bold and vivid colors, which are characteristic of the Hispanic culture. The people illustrated in the book are also accurately depicted in skin color and dress. The illustrations of the homes and environments in the book also showcase the Hispanic culture. Because the book beautifully blends haiku poems with interesting informational tidbits, I highly recommend this book.
This book is a collection of haiku poems describing fourteen foods native to the Americas. Each food is celebrated with a creative and fun haiku and illustration. Informative text boxes are also included and provide readers with interesting facts about the food.
Critical Analysis:
Through haikus, fourteen indigenous foods of the Americas are named and described. The mouth-watering adjectives used to describe the tasty foods leave readers craving America’s sproutings. Because the book is a collection of foods with each food showcased by a haiku and box of informational text, there are no specific characters. However, the characters that are illustrated are happy and take delight in eating the delicious foods described. As for the content of the poems, the haikus are consistent with the food’s characteristics. For example, the chile poem is an accurate depiction of the chile pepper because the chile’s heat characteristics do make one teary eyed while at the same time bringing a delicious fire to one’s tongue. Moreover, the book is rich in cultural details that are consistent with the Hispanic culture. Through text boxes on the sidebar, snippets of information about the specific food are provided, such as, history, usage, origins, etymology, commonly found locations, growing seasons, and interesting trivia facts. The creative haiku poems and informational text boxes make reading this book enjoyable.
As for the illustrations in the book, Rafael Lopez uses bold and vivid colors, which are characteristic of the Hispanic culture. The people illustrated in the book are also accurately depicted in skin color and dress. The illustrations of the homes and environments in the book also showcase the Hispanic culture. Because the book beautifully blends haiku poems with interesting informational tidbits, I highly recommend this book.
Read
July 6, 2012Yum! ¡Mmmm! ¡Qué Rico!, by Pat Mora, is an information and poetry book with a lexile of 970, meaning that it would be best for middle school readers. There are no main characters in this book, but the main subject in this book are the different foods found in the Americas. The point of view of this point differed. When the author was giving background information on the food that the haiku was talking about then it was third person. When it was the actual haiku then the point of view varied from first, to second to third. The setting of this book was North America, South America, and Central America. The plot of this book was writing a haiku that focused on a specific food, like blueberries, and then on the other page explaining the origin of blue berries, how they are used, what they use to be used for, and a fun fact about them. The main ideas of this book were food, history, nature, and the Hispanic culture. I would definitely recommend this book because it is a great introduction to poetry and haikus. I really enjoyed how the author gave the background on all of the foods he talked about in his haiku. This book was also a winner of the Pura Belpre award.
Concluding Statement: A haiku can teach you a lot.
Concluding Statement: A haiku can teach you a lot.
October 23, 2013
Why this book? This book has BEAUTIFUL illustrations. I was instantly drawn to it. Each page has a haiku about a fruit, vegetable, or nut that is natively grown in the Americas. The book also includes information about each fruit, vegetable, or nut, and where it originated.
Genre: Poetry
Theme/ Keywords: Poetry, Haiku, Americas, Fruits and Vegetables
Characteristics of Quality: This book has beautiful, colorful illustrations that make you want to eat familiar and unfamiliar foods. Each haiku is loaded with delicious, descriptive language.
Special Features: Each haiku is paired with an informational paragraph describing where the food originates, different ways it was and is used, and other interesting facts.
Gender of Primary Character: Girls, Boys, and Entire Families
Race/Ethnicity of Primary Character: Latino & Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
Cultural Considerations:
Language Considerations: The rich descriptive language paired with expressive illustrations that support each haiku will support new language learners. The concept of a Haiku may initially be abstract & possibly confusing.
Open Ended Questions: What foods do you eat with your family? What foods could you write a haiku about? What are some delicious words that stuck in your mind? Why?
Genre: Poetry
Theme/ Keywords: Poetry, Haiku, Americas, Fruits and Vegetables
Characteristics of Quality: This book has beautiful, colorful illustrations that make you want to eat familiar and unfamiliar foods. Each haiku is loaded with delicious, descriptive language.
Special Features: Each haiku is paired with an informational paragraph describing where the food originates, different ways it was and is used, and other interesting facts.
Gender of Primary Character: Girls, Boys, and Entire Families
Race/Ethnicity of Primary Character: Latino & Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
Cultural Considerations:
Language Considerations: The rich descriptive language paired with expressive illustrations that support each haiku will support new language learners. The concept of a Haiku may initially be abstract & possibly confusing.
Open Ended Questions: What foods do you eat with your family? What foods could you write a haiku about? What are some delicious words that stuck in your mind? Why?
May 3, 2015
Yum! MmMm! Que Rico! is a fun book of haiku poems by Pat Mora and illustrated by Rafael Lopez. It is a collection of many haikus that describes and celebrates many different foods related to the Americas. With fun and bright illustrations the poems are able to capture the tasty essence of all the foods, and it even makes your mouth water a little. Each poem really brings out the best parts of each food experience. Along with each poem is a little bit of background information of the food. This includes where it originated from, where the name comes from, and what the foods mean to people.
Mora's poems are a lot of fun to read. They really bring back memories for me. This makes them seem like symbols of memories and past experiences because they are able to trigger emotions and memories. The illustrations by Lopez are nice and have a pretty consistent color scheme throughout the book. They were done using acrylics on wood. All the illustrations bleed throughout the story. Mora included a lot of things in the peritext for this book. This includes words you should know, notes from the author and illustrator, and a letter to the reader. I would definitely recommend this book for cultural learning.
Mora's poems are a lot of fun to read. They really bring back memories for me. This makes them seem like symbols of memories and past experiences because they are able to trigger emotions and memories. The illustrations by Lopez are nice and have a pretty consistent color scheme throughout the book. They were done using acrylics on wood. All the illustrations bleed throughout the story. Mora included a lot of things in the peritext for this book. This includes words you should know, notes from the author and illustrator, and a letter to the reader. I would definitely recommend this book for cultural learning.
February 22, 2015
This book is filled with poems about different foods that are native to North and South America. What immediately drew me to this particular book at the library was the vivid illustrations, and the fact that every poem is a haiku. Haiku can be very fun to read, and even more fun to write, simply because they can be about almost anything. They are also like a puzzle, as you have to fit the right amount of syllables into each line. I would definitely use this book as a method for teaching haiku to my students, and I would use them as samples if I wanted my students to write haiku as an assignment. I also love the illustrations in the book. They are very big and colorful, and they enhance the subject of each poem. Each page also features a small paragraph that gives information about the food and where exactly it is from. A lot of these poems would be excellent for read aloud, as they contain words like "yum!" and "mmm!" I would love to keep this poetry book in my classroom, as I think students would love to hear these poems.
April 27, 2011
Pat Mora presents readers with a collection of haikus describing various activities and the enjoyment of foods, spices, and flavors specific to North, South, and Central America. Illustrations by Rafael López craftily depict children of Latino descent active and involved in the preparation and delightful consumption of everything from vanilla, chocolate, peanuts, and tomatoes. Mirroring the haikus on the left page spread of each American-native item is a paragraph describing where the objects were grown, how it was prepared, and occasionally when it was “discovered” by Western colonists. A final author’s notes describes Mora’s motivation of creating a book celebrating foods and crops first enjoyed by native American populations before its incorporation into European life. Creative and educational, readers of all ages can experience both a fun, historic collection of snippets along with a brilliant first-exposure to the structure of Japanese haikus.
July 14, 2010
AMERICAS AWARD (2007)
Format: Picture book
Age level: Elementary
This is a very fun and informational book about various food items that originated in the Americas. Every two pages focuses on one item. There is a beautiful, vibrant illustration spanning the two pages that usually shows a person involved with the food. Each page also has a Haiku devoted to the particular item. Some of the foods include blueberries, pecans, and papayas.
The haikus themselves are very well-written. They are able to convey the essence of the food and make your mouth water, all within the limits of the syllables. They would be an excellent way to introduce haiku to students.
One aspect of this book I especially liked was that the topics were Latino but the poetry format was Japanese. This is just a simple way of showing how seamlessly cultures can come together.
Format: Picture book
Age level: Elementary
This is a very fun and informational book about various food items that originated in the Americas. Every two pages focuses on one item. There is a beautiful, vibrant illustration spanning the two pages that usually shows a person involved with the food. Each page also has a Haiku devoted to the particular item. Some of the foods include blueberries, pecans, and papayas.
The haikus themselves are very well-written. They are able to convey the essence of the food and make your mouth water, all within the limits of the syllables. They would be an excellent way to introduce haiku to students.
One aspect of this book I especially liked was that the topics were Latino but the poetry format was Japanese. This is just a simple way of showing how seamlessly cultures can come together.
July 9, 2011
Age:
Grades 4-8
Genre:
Poetry Haiku
Diversity:
Native Indians of North America/Latino/Central America/South America
Illustrations:
Artwork by Rafael Lopez depicts drawings and colors that reflect earthy colors and natural colors. People are painted with natural colors according to their origins.
Personal response:
This was a good lesson about foods native to North America that were used by Native Americans, foods native to Central America and South America. It was a lesson in history and provides the reader with a sense of heritage about foods such as pumpkins which are from Central America and blueberries from the state of Maine which were used by Native Americans.
Curricular or programming connections:
Learning how to write a Haiku poem and also a history lesson about the various origins of these foods would be a good lesson for children.
Grades 4-8
Genre:
Poetry Haiku
Diversity:
Native Indians of North America/Latino/Central America/South America
Illustrations:
Artwork by Rafael Lopez depicts drawings and colors that reflect earthy colors and natural colors. People are painted with natural colors according to their origins.
Personal response:
This was a good lesson about foods native to North America that were used by Native Americans, foods native to Central America and South America. It was a lesson in history and provides the reader with a sense of heritage about foods such as pumpkins which are from Central America and blueberries from the state of Maine which were used by Native Americans.
Curricular or programming connections:
Learning how to write a Haiku poem and also a history lesson about the various origins of these foods would be a good lesson for children.
October 30, 2014
Along with Pat Mora’s “delicious” haiku, each double page share a paragraph about the fruit or vegetable highlighted, and a gorgeous illustration filled with López’s unique paintings in the style of Latin American murals. The book is filled with the history of food you may not know was in South America or the southern parts of North America long before Columbus arrived. In addition to excellent information, some words are also shared in Spanish, and sometimes other native languages. There are pages about corn, chilis, cranberries (also known as craneberries, bounceberries and bearberries!), pumpkins, potatoes, and more. I learned quite a bit, and am sure you, and children, will, too. After cooking, cranberries pop open. Did you know? And Pat Mora, in her haiku, names them “scarlet fireworks”.
July 3, 2012
The Lexile level for the book is AD 970L. It is for children from age 5 to 8. It is a refreshing and innovative poetry book. Food, the fun food bring to families, haiku and geography are the main ideas of the book. The illustrations are vivid and they help the readers to relate to the food. It is like the readers can taste the food in the poems while reading them. The author is brilliant and uses her “new” form of haiku to connect to the mind of a child. There are 14 kinds of food, each with a haiku. But there are also information sidebars that will help the readers to fully understand. It is not easy to teach poetry to children at this young age, but the author makes it less abstract and more tangible to them.
May 14, 2011
This book is a great blend of information and poetry. It shares fourteen different foods originated in the Americas (from North to South America and in between). Each food is described using a haiku poem. Then, on the parallel page it shares background information, including place of origin and interesting facts about the crops. For young readers in the primary grades, they will enjoy the familiarity of many of the foods, and older students will enjoy the craft of the haikus and additional information that is provided. The illustrations also pull the reader into the text. They are detailed and colorful, making the nonfiction topic friendlier to the young reader.
May 5, 2009
This is such an interesting book! Not only did I learn some really neat facts about fruits, veggies, and other kinds of foods that originated in the Americas but the whole thing is written in haiku! It's really pretty amazing. Each page features a nonfiction section that tells you about the particular food (example: pecans or blueberries) and then there's a beautiful 17-syllable haiku, too! It's very creative and I could definitely see myself using this with little kids or older kids (to teach facts and/or haiku in an interesting way). The pictures are also really beautiful.
October 2, 2010
I really loved this book--the pictures were amazing, and were reminiscent of Mexican murals. Multicultural children are portrayed throughout, and the foods featured have lovely haiku poems to describe them. It can work with a very young group, because you can just read the simple haiku and then let them look at the picture, because they will want to look at it for longer than it takes to read the poem. Each page also has a subtle paragraph or two in each corner with additional information on each food, so it could be of interest to older children as well.
September 20, 2013
This 2007 Americas award winning book is written in Haiku format.
This is an exciting and informational book about various food items that originated in the Americas such as blueberries, corn, chocolate, and tomatoes. Each page has a Haiku devoted to the particular item and the other page is an explanation on the origin of that food and how it has been used historically.
This would be an excellent way to introduce haiku to students. While all students would be attracted to the colorful, rich, and animated illustrations, it would be most appropriate for ages 7-12.
This is an exciting and informational book about various food items that originated in the Americas such as blueberries, corn, chocolate, and tomatoes. Each page has a Haiku devoted to the particular item and the other page is an explanation on the origin of that food and how it has been used historically.
This would be an excellent way to introduce haiku to students. While all students would be attracted to the colorful, rich, and animated illustrations, it would be most appropriate for ages 7-12.
November 27, 2013
This book won the 2007 Americas award and is written in haiku format with informational text as well about the food being written about. The haikus are very rich in language and the information is for older students in my opinion. My students are English language learners and had a hard time understanding the vocabulary. The illustrations make this book though. My students enjoyed the illustrations. I watched a webcast of the 2007 Americas awards and apparently this book is also written in Spanish. I would like to check out the Spanish version of this book.
April 13, 2013
This is another book that I thought would include more Spanish. Instead it’s a book of haikus that has a beautiful layout. Each food has a two page color spread that is absolutely beautiful; a short haiku on the bottom right corner of the page and a long column of text providing factual information about the food’s history. It’s a gorgeous book that describes food found all over the Americas, I just wish it had included more Spanish.
September 28, 2015
Are you hungry? If not, you will be after reading this delicious book. This haiku collection book is full of 14 mouthwatering foods that help celebrate native foods around America. The colorful illustration in the poems help bring plenty of senses to life while the written text describes the different foods. This book helps acknowledge the diversity among us while using food and giving an informational description from where each food came from.
February 16, 2010
I loved this book. It is so informational about the different foods that make American culture form the times of the Native Americans. Although there is this information piece about the origins of American food there is also a wonderful assortment of Haiku poetry to explain the excitement behind these traditions. The illustrations are bright and inviting!
August 30, 2015
I like Pat Mora, but I really didn't care for these poems. in fact, as a book of poetry this would get a measly 2 stars. but I really liked the short blurbs about each of the foods native to the Americas and I thought the illustrations were great. so I end up with 3 stars, which is both less and more than it really deserves.
August 22, 2014
Pat Mora captures the essence of some of our favorite foods in this collection of haiku poems. These poems capture the essence of foods that have grown in the Americas for centuries, from peanuts to pecans, corn to potatoes, tomatoes to blueberries. I especially love how she celebrates the connections between growing, eating and experiencing all types of foods.
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