Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Qué rico!

Americas' Sproutings

Haiku by Pat Mora

Pictures by Rafael López

Mora, Pat. Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Qué rico!. Ill. by Rafael López. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books Inc., 2007. ISBN 9781584302711

Plot Summary

This book is a delicious collection of haiku that celebrates fourteen foods. The fourteen special foods highlighted in this book are all native to the Americas. 

Critical Analysis

Each haiku has a paragraph that describes where the food originated and how it was and is used mirrored on the left page. Did you know that peanuts are from South America, March is National Peanut Month, and they are not really nuts? That is just a piece of the interesting facts Pat Mora includes in this book. Readers will also learn that pineapples are called piña which means pinecone in Spanish.The title page includes a mini glossary of Spanish terms, acknowledgements, and the author's sources. 

Rafael López does not leave any piece of the page without color or illustration. His use of acrylic on wood panels creates a background texture that is unlike anything else. His illustrations cover two pages for each food and definitely enhance the impact of the haiku by representing a snapshot of where the food originates. Since the foods are from different parts of the Americas, each representation of the people is different. Not one person has the same skin color or eye shape. This is how the illustrator portrays the physical differences in people from Wisconsin, Texas, Maine, Mexico, Central American countries, and South American countries.

Review Excerpts

• Teachers will find this a welcome addition to their social-studies units, but it should also win a broad general audience for its inventive fun-filled approach to an ever-popular topic: food." -School Library Journal
• "This inventive stew of food haiku celebrates the indigenous foods of the Americas." -Booklist

Connections

More books by Pat Mora.

• Book Fiesta!Celebrate Children's Day/Book Day; Celebremos El dia de los ninos/El dia de los libros (9780061288777)
• A Birthday Basket for Tia (9780689813283)