Poetry Book Review - Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Qué Rico!: America's Sproutings

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mora, Pat. Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Qué Rico!: Americas’ Sproutings. 2007. Ill. by Rafael Lopez. New York: Lee & Low Books, Inc. ISBN 9781584302711

REVIEW
Pat Mora has combined a Japanese form of poetry, haiku, with Hispanic American content in this delightful collection of poems about food originating in the Americas (North, South, and in between). She writes about blueberries, tomatoes, chocolate, and more; each poem filled with imagination and a clear expression of excitement for these yummy foods. In addition to the charming haiku, each poem is accompanied by concise and interesting information about the food, its origin, what it is used for, and even sometimes how it got its name. An author’s note indicates that there is still some debate on some of the various plants’ origins, but all information is verified by some research.

What makes Mora’s work stand out in this collection is the presence of powerful figurative language found in each poem. With words like, “leaves sprout silk-snug house” (corn), and “salt and pepper clouds” (potatoes), the descriptions of each food allow readers to taste the flavor. Each page is illustrated in vivid colors that add meaning to the abundant figurative language found in each poem. Young readers will enjoy the playfulness of the pictures and the aspects of fantasy included. Each poem is more abstract, but it also has some concrete meaning mixed in as well. However, even with the large amount of metaphors, younger readers will not have difficulty in gathering the meaning of Mora’s work. This book is a great way to teach the use of figurative language and teach a lesser-known form of poetry.

SELECTION
Pineapple
Pat Mora

A stiff, spiky hat
on thick prickly skin, inside
hide syrupy rings

AWARDS AND REVIEW EXCERPTS
Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee, Texas Library Association, 2009
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “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.”
Starred review in BOOKLIST: “This inventive stew of food haiku celebrates the indigenous foods of the Americas.”

CONNECTIONS:
* After reading this book, have children choose a food and write their own haiku.
* Students can further their information literacy skills by conducting research about the food subject in their own haiku, or they can conduct research to find out more about one of the foods written about in the poetry collection.
* Read selected poems to the students (without showing them the illustrations) and have them draw their own pictures from the imagery Mora has created with figurative language.