Rice Is Life

by Rita Golden Gelman, Yangsook Choi (Illustrator)

In Bali, as in many parts of the world, rice is more than just a staple food-rice is life! In Bali, life revolves around the planting and harvesting of rice. While eels slip through the mud and dragonflies flutter overhead, farmers plant seedlings in the wet rice field, or 'saweh.' Soon each plant is crowned with flowers, and tiny green kernels appear. Rain nourishes the kernels, which grow plump and sweet. The green plants turn golden and ripe, and everyone helps harvest the grain. When the harvest is finished, the farmers give thanks to the goddess of rice for a successful crop. From planting the seeds to harvesting the ripe grain, this beautiful, poetic book tells the story of rice and of the Balinese people, for whom rice is life.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2000

Reviews

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Double story line with poetry in the picture and text outside the main drawing telling the story. Basics of how rice is planted and grows.

[Mother Goose Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This gorgeous picture book poetically describes the saweh, or rice field, and all that occurs there. As the title implies, rice is life. Learn how the saweh is filled with life. Beautiful illustrations accompany the text. Highly recommended.

[Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Science, religion, life (and rhyming).

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is set in the country of Bali where they eat rice for every meal. The story describes the process of growing rice in the wet rice fields which are called Sawahs. The author puts a poem on each page with a description of what is happening in each stage of growth of the rice plant. The paintings by Yangsook Choi bring the book to life.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of the sawah (rice field) in Bali, told in verse, with additional information about the planting, growing, and harvesting of rice. Lots of animals are featured, from the eels in the mud, to dragonflies, spiders, frogs and ducks. A real sense of the process of growing rice and the importance of rice to the culture (hence the title).

[Sheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

My children and I enjoy this book, with its multi-genre approach of poetry and prose. Golden-Gelman does a beautiful job of demonstrating the importance of rice in Bali and process it takes to grow.