Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Que´ Rico! Americas' Sproutings Haiku by Pat Mora (Module 2, Book 2)

Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Que´ Rico! Americas' Sproutings Haiku by Pat Mora; Review by Elaine Alexander

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Mora, Pat and Rafael Løpez. Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Que´ Rico! Americas' Sproutings. New York: Lee & Low, 2007. ISBN:978160060892650995

SUMMARY
This book of poetry focuses on the visual and sensory appeal of different foods from the Americas. Each page includes a factual paragraph that describes the origin of the highlighted fruit or vegetable, and a haiku that captures the color, taste, emotional and sensory connections to the food. The artwork is vivid and full of whimsy. For example, in the pages dedicated to chocolate, there is a mix of celebration and dream-like qualities that encapsulate the way a bite of chocolate feels to a child.

ANALYSIS
This book has appeal on two fronts -- it gives factual and cultural information about fourteen different types of food from the Americas and it offers clever haikus to support the way these foods draw upon sensory and emotional memories connected to sharing these treats. The bold colors used in the artwork compliment the celebration of South American and Southwest culture, with sunset color schemes, peppered with bright blues and greens. The use of haiku make the poems more accessible for children because they bring a sense of fun and frivolity. Haiku poetry follows a simple pattern of five syllables, followed by seven, and finished with five. This short poetry form can be a great way to introduce children to try out their own haiku and poetry skills.

In addition to the informational text and the haiku format, the poems stimulate emotions that range from silly to joyful, as well as evacuating a sense of family or even magical connotations. Food has a transformative power in these poems. The items selected are both familiar and common, with some insertions of less common items, such as prickly pears. The collection has an overall ability to highlight our similarities through showing children the foods in which we share with our neighboring countries. By showing that the Americas are connected through these delicious foods, readers gain a sense of commonality and shared experiences that bring us all closer together.

The author ends the book with a letter to the reader, inviting children to join the foods introduced in the book with either a clapping or jumping rope rhyme. In addition, her letter goes on to discuss the variety we have in the world and how that variety is part of what makes the world an amazing place. It is a sweet way to end the collection and an important reminder to children to embrace the diversity in the the world around them.

Use & Highlight Poem

The collection on the whole could be used as a fantastic way to delve into a multicultural unit for a classroom or library. Any of the chosen poems could be used to introduce the haiku format and encourage the reader to try their own hand at this poetry form. In addition, students could be encouraged to share a food they love and find out the origins of that food to share with the group.

For a spotlight poem, I chose Chocolate because many people can easily connect to the joy of eating chocolate. In addition, I thought the artwork, depicting cakes and pies in the clouds, as well as a castle made of chocolate with a child gleefully running toward it, was such as fantastic example of how food can truly connect us to sensory experiences.

Chocolate

Fudge, cake, pie, cookies.
Brown magic melts on your tongue.
Happy, your eyes dance.