Kallaloo!: A Caribbean Tale

by David Gershator, Phillis Gershator, Diane Greenseid (Illustrator)

Can a shell really make soup? Yes, if Granny stirs the pot and with a little help from the folks in Market Square. Regional dialect, bright illustrations, and a recipe for Kallaloo, a seafood gumbo that is a West Indian favorite, bring a distinctly Caribbean flavor to this adaptation of the traditional tale, Stone Soup.

Genres: Picture Books, Cultural, Childrens, Folklore

38 pages, Hardcover

First published January 3, 2005

Reviews

[Marilu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful and charming retelling of "Stone Soup" (originally a European folktale/s) with Caribbean flavor - literally and figurately! As a Jamaican gyal myself, it is always wonderful to read books that depict Caribbean - West Indie life.

Poor Granny is very hungry but has no food or money. As I stated, this is basically 'Stone Soup', however, instead of a stone, it was a fresh shell with many possibilities, which turns out to be magical, or maybe not. As soon as Granny finds the shell, she goes around the market shouting joyously that it is a magic shell and it could make soup (because it may or may not have whispered Soup, Soup into Granny's ear), however, shortly, the marketers work together to create soup. A dish that you could make yourself because there's a recipe!

The book is rich, lively, funny, and full of Caribbean living. Do you believe the shell is magic? I like to think so (you'll see in the end). But, maybe, similar to the original folktale(s), there is magic in a community coming together, especially making a meal where everyone can share.

*No real shell was hurt in the making of this book. Be careful with whole shells as sometimes they are used as a home for critters. So, please avoid them as much as possible, even if they are pretty!*

Let me know what you think of this gorgeous book (cover and tale in all). I feel this is going to be a beloved classic!

I recommend listening to this storytime by Bookie Rookie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6iWK...

[Alyssa McGregor]

"Kallaloo: A Caribbean Tale" was written by David and Phillis Gershartor, who have lived in the US Virgin Islands for many years (not natives), and illustrated by Diane Greenseid, who is not a native to the Virgin Islands as well. The book falls under the genre of fiction and folklore since it was inspired by the classic story of "Stone Soup". I like how the story includes a "What's next" discussion since the soup was missing several different items. This also adds to the mystery of the story. Children can guess what item may go in next to create an engaging read-aloud interaction. The grandmother had a problem when she could not find the items the shell needed to make the soup, but with the help of each of her community members, those items could be found. The characters also represented the setting of the story, people at the Market square.

I found the illustrations to be very representing of Virgin Islands people, setting and culture. The acrylic paint is so bright and beautiful, it is hard for the eyes to not stay fixed on these illustrations. The characters were illustrated in island casual, which is what you see at the Market Square in the Virgin Islands. On each page for whatever item was being picked, it was represented on that page. This helps children to follow along and visually see what was being put in the put to make the kallaloo.

I enjoyed reading this story because it brought me back to my hometown, the US Virgin Islands and how I wish I had a hot bowl of kallaloo to eat. Since kallaloo is important in the Caribbean, the authors added the recipe to the back of the book. I also enjoyed how the story was written in Virgin Islands dialect. While reading the book, my accent naturally flowed. Growing up, there was not a lot of books that captured my dialect in text. The authors kept the culture and language alive in this story. The story also has an important theme of a sense of community. Growing up in the Caribbean, everybody had to help with or contribute to making meals. This value is highly regarded where I'm from. I love how the book captured this theme so beautifully and well-written. The book makes a fun read-aloud for elementary aged children.

[Lauran Ferguson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. In the story, Granny uses the idea of a magic shell to trick the town's people into giving her ingredients to make Kallaloo. I think the story line was clever. but it might give children the idea that they can trick people into getting what they want. The illustrations, on the other hand, were absolutely perfect. They were very colorful and brought the book to life.

[Bria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kallaloo!: A Caribbean Tale. This fiction children's book really grasp the idea of how popular and tasty the native dish is. The story is not only interesting to children but include realistic, convincing characters. The acrylic illustrations in this reading are beautiful. They correspond to the text and enhance and add to the story. While reading this book I was surprised at how accurate the language was and how well it represented the culture and the Caribbean tradition.
I enjoyed reading Kalloloo!: A Caribbean Tale. Coming from someone who has had Kallaloo before and is a major part of my family’s native dishes, I was pleased with the story. I believe what I liked most about this book was how creative Granny was when it came to her being hungry. She literally “finessed” everyone into helping her make a giant pot of soup because she was starving and had no money. I believe children would enjoy reading this book just as much as I did. I would definitely read again.

[Quyen Tran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever had kallaloo soup? Grandma makes good soup with things from the market and the ocean. Everyone contributes their ingredients to help grandma satisfy her hungry stomach. The reader imagine day in Haiti with grandma in this story. The major themes in this book were community and identity, as we read about Haitian culture. The genre is traditional literature as we read about Haitian traditions that children can learn from. This was a WOW book from me because I got to learn a snippet of a different culture.

A literary device used is onomatopoeia when grandma describes what she hears in the shell and when her stomach is growling. I would consider this a anti-bias book as it culturally supports what’s being done.

[Jessica King]

This retelling of Stone Soup is set in a Caribbean market.

Read my full review on my blog, Caribbean Children's Books.

[Zoii Vogt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed learning about this authentic Caribbean soup. I think it was super cool that the author put in a recipe at the end for 12 people and for 2 with the comment of cooking with adult supervision.

[Sharon Dorival · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome way of sharing the recipe.

[Lisa Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kallaloo! is the Caribbean (West Indies) equivalent to Stone Soup. However, instead of a stone a poor grandmother uses a magic shell to get the villagers to help her make some soup. This soup will be plenty hot (spice wise), much more so than the original tale. This version of the story is geared to represent values from the Caribbean people. The pictures are beautifully done and really bring the book and extra life that it wouldn't otherwise have. The book also contains a lot of Caribbean dialect and includes two different recipes for Kallaloo in the back of the book. This book would make a good read aloud for students in younger grades. It would be a great comparison with Cactus Soup by Eric Kimmel, to see how different areas perceive different things. It may even be a good way to get students thinking about their own cultures and how their cultural version of Stone Soup would go.

[babyhippoface · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Granny uses a “magic shell” to make kallaloo, the townspeople contribute meat, vegetables, fresh fish and more to the brew in this version of Stone Soup set in the West Indies. Greenseid’s acrylics echo the vibrant greens, blues, and corals of the Caribbean, while characters speak in colorful, Caribbean dialect, making this a fun read-aloud. An authors’ note describes the actual dish kallaloo, and two recipes for it are included at the book’s end. Delightful from beginning to end, this book deserves a spot on the elementary library shelf. Use it with the traditional story and Eric Kimmel’s Cactus Soup for Venn Diagram comparisons of the culture-specific tales, or brainstorm ideas for yet another version of the story set in a different culture.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

KALLALOO! A Caribbean Tale By: David & Phillis Gershator ISBN: 0-7614-5110-2, 2005.
Kallaloo is a Caribbean gumbo, a thick green soup originally made with the leaves of the kallaloo, a ground-growing vine (spinach makes a good substitute). The words Kallaloo and gumbo are African in origin. Granny’s belly is bawling and she has no food to eat when she finds a magic shell that whispers to her, “soup”! Granny runs into town and tells the towns people that it can make soup. She convinces people the shell is telling her what they need. Together as a town they make Kallaloo and eat!! After eating the magic shell asks Granny to put her back into the sea.



** Inspired by the classic tale “stone soup” but with a Caribbean twist.

[Brooke Devarennes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a poor grandmother who gets help from a magical shell to make a type of soup called Stone Soup, or more locally known as Kallaloo. The shell tells her what to put in the soup and the people in the Market Square help to gather all of the ingredients. They celebrate the free gumbo like soup and Granny returns the conch shell back into the ocean. This book is great for ESOL students, for teaching dialect, imagery, and fantasy.

[Megan Richards · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caribbean version of the tale stone soup. In this version, the main character is poor granny who is trying to find something to eat when a shell calls to her from the beach. She uses this shell to convince the community to make Kallaloo, a Caribbean soup. Colorful, rich illustrations that fit the words and mood of the story. Gershator provides a recipe for Kallaloo at the end.

[Shakila Lightfoot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Granny needs help making soup and she cannot do it without the help of the people at the market. They help her gather ingredients. I think it is a great way to teach students that you need a "community" in order to truly succeed.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Caribbean version of the classic "Stone Soup" had my mouth watering!
I copied out the simple recipe at the end. Now I have to figure out how to make fungee! Ah, soup!

[Valarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I personally believe that writing "in dialect" is kind of racist, this is an interesting twist on the "Stone Soup" legend that provides a great opportunity to teach kids about diversity.

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

perfect for a "trip" to the caribbean during the summer!

[Caitlin Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pictures in this book are really nicely done, but the story line may be hard for children to follow and the words can often be big. It might be intimidating for children to read.