A delightful modern tall tale sure to entertain and inspire readers to share (and embroider) their own stories.
When Ramsey’s grandma, who is just a wee bit grumpy, sees his painting of an octopus, she’s inspired to make pulpo guisado—octopus stew—and adventure ensues.
Ramsey and Grandma, both Afro-Latinx, head to the store, where they find an octopus with wide and expressive eyes—Ramsey suspects it is still alive. He searches his phone for information about octopuses and gets a warning he tries to share with his grandmother, but she is too annoyed at the interruption to listen. Once home, Grandma cleans the octopus, but shortly after the creature is dropped into boiling water, noises come from the kitchen they can’t explain. In the kitchen, they see the octopus has escaped the pot. It is now a giant monster Ramsey must fight in order to save Grandma, who is being squeezed by the octopus’s arms. At the height of the action, the story is interrupted by Ramsey’s father, who declares disbelief in a double gate-fold revealing that Ramsey is telling this story to his rapt family, making it both an entertaining tale in itself and a comment on the power of storytelling. This narrative is related primarily in English with some accompanying, unitalicized Spanish phrases. The backmatter includes an author’s note, a Spanish glossary with pronunciation key, and a recipe for octopus stew.
A delightful modern tall tale sure to entertain and inspire readers to share (and embroider) their own stories. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3754-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
A quietly radical, eminently delightful book.
Novelist Saeed makes her picture-book debut with this delicious tale about a boy and his beloved daal.
When Bilal’s father begins to make the South Asian legume stew, Bilal and his friends Morgan and Elias are eager to help, but Abu tells them, “This dish takes patience.…This dish takes time.” The children choose to make chana daal (with split chickpeas) and line up the spices: turmeric, chili, cumin. But when Morgan and Elias wonder aloud why the daal “looks” and “smells” funny, Bilal becomes concerned that his friends won’t like his favorite food at all. The daal simmers all day—as Bilal, Morgan, and Elias play hopscotch, swim, and hike and other friends join them—and once the sun begins to set, Bilal’s father calls them all home. They break naan around the table and share the steamy, soupy, garlicky, salty, sweet, creamy daal. “Bilal, you were right—daal tastes great!” they say. The tale centers on a situation familiar to many children of immigrants—the othering of the foods of their homes—and validates young readers’ cultural experiences. Saeed’s inclusion of a South Asian father engaged in domestic work is radical and welcome, and Syed’s inviting, bold, cartoonlike illustrations depict brown-skinned Bilal surrounded by children of a variety of skin tones (Morgan presents white and Elias presents black).
A quietly radical, eminently delightful book. (author’s note, recipe) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: June 4, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-1810-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
Delicious.
It’s dim sum time!
Every Sunday, a child’s family meets at a dim sum restaurant, and right from the first page (or even the delectable endpapers), the excitement is palpable. This is going to be a full-on experience. Bright watercolor illustrations outlined lightly with colored pencil offer a charming view of this apparently Chinese extended family of a dozen members. The narrator exudes enthusiasm with expressive dot eyes and a wide mouth as they greet everyone and enter the restaurant. There’s a wait, but Uncle Irvin takes the cousins around the restaurant to see the good-fortune kumquat plant, the good-luck cat statue, and the fish tank. Then it’s time to eat. There’s jasmine tea and carts stacked high with bamboo baskets full of food—too many dim sum options to choose from. Lam’s love of both dim sum and family is infectious, and she deftly weaves cultural details into the story, such as family members tapping their fingers to thank Uncle Jeremy for refilling hot tea for everyone. “Tap tap tap! Tap tap tap! Tapping your finger on the table means thank you.” Grandma also teaches the child to wait their turn for the Lazy Susan. The spread listing every person it passes on its way around is delightfully suspenseful, worth the char siu bun at the end. Every small pleasure of this outing seems thrilling, but there’s also a comfortable ease to this family, shown in all their loving ways. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Delicious. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-239698-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
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