A beautiful, amusing tribute to family traditions.
In this illustrated children’s book, a young boy learns to be proud of his family’s Jamaican food traditions.
Giovanni loves Sundays, when he plays his trumpet, reads comics, draws pictures of frogs, and spends time with Jasper, his African grey parrot. But what he loves most is when his whole family comes to visit; he’s especially fond of Auntie, who gave him Jasper. Today, Giovanni’s friends Emily, Aaron, and Gabby are planning to come by, too, but he’s worried that they won’t like his family’s traditional Sunday dinner of Jamaican stewed chicken with rice and beans, which isn’t his favorite, either; he calls it “rice and rocks.” He tells Auntie, “We have to break the tradition today!” But she and Jasper have another plan: they magically take him for a trip around the world to visit the places where Giovanni’s friends’ families come from—Japan, Puerto Rico, and New Orleans. At each stop, he learns that variations on rice and beans are served for celebrations and Sunday dinners. The kicker is when Giovanni discovers that Louis Armstrong, his hero, loved rice and beans so much that he signed his letters “Red Beans and Ricely Yours.” Later, Giovanni tells his friends proudly that “Rice and beans are my grandma’s specialty….On Sundays, it’s a tradition in our family to eat it.” In her debut children’s book, author Richards shows a good sense of the rhythms and repetitions that give pleasing structure to a children’s book; for example, in each visit abroad, the country’s national bird is there to greet Giovanni and his cohorts. Richards’ characters have plenty of appeal; Auntie, for example, is an ideal mentor who teaches the lesson about appreciation with fun and humor, never by scolding, and Giovanni is artistic, musical, and loves animals. Sullivan’s delightful illustrations also contribute to the story, as they are well-composed, full of atmosphere and detail, and attractively hued.
A beautiful, amusing tribute to family traditions.Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-940014-73-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Wise Ink Creative Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
What if the market was closed when you wanted to bake a pie? You could embark for Europe, learn Italian en route, and pick up some semolina wheat in Italy, an egg in France, kurundu bark for cinnamon in Sri Lanka, and an entire cow in England (butter) before coming home via Jamaica (sugar) and Vermont (apples). The expertly designed illustrations in which a dark-haired lass journeys by various means to these interesting places to get her groceries are lovely and lively, and the narrative, too, travels at a spritely pace. The journey is neither quite logical enough to be truly informative nor quite bizarre enough to be satisfyingly silly, while the rich, sweet recipe that's appended will take some adult assistance. Still, fun. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 2, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-83705-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1994
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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