WWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM 67Review_CHILDREN’S
★ Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story
Kevin Noble Maillard, illus. by Juana Martinez-Neal. Roaring Brook,
$18.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-62672-746-5
Using brief statements that begin “fry bread is,” Maillard,
who is a member of the Mekusukey band of the Seminole
Nation tribe, creates a powerful meditation on the food as “a
cycle of heritage and fortune.” In each spread, descriptions of
fry bread range from the experiential
(flavor, sound) to the more conceptual
(nation, place). Bolstering the bold
statements, spare poems emphasize fry
bread in terms of provenance (“Fry
bread is history/ The long walk, the
stolen land”), culture (“Fry bread is art/
Sculpture, landscape, portrait”), and community (“Fry bread
is time/ On weekdays and holidays/ Supper or dinner/ Powwows
and festivals”). In blues and browns with bright highlights,
Martinez-Neal’s wispy art features a diverse group of six chil-
dren carrying ingredients and learning about each statement.
A fry bread recipe concludes the book, and an author’s note
offers vital, detailed context about this varied dish and its
complex history (“The story of fry bread is the story of
American Indians”). Ages 3–6. (Oct.)Frankie’s Favorite Food
Kelsey Garrity-Riley. Tundra, $17.99 (36p) ISBN 978-0-7352-6431-1
As classmates prepare to dress as their favorite eats for a
school play, foodie Franklin cannot bear to narrow things down
(“How could he decide between a bowl of chowder and some
fresh guacamole?”). After he asks to take the stage as “pancakes
topped with tomato soup and sprinkled with popcorn,” among
other combinations (a mushroom-clad student pulls the cap
over their eyes), Frankie’s teacher suggests that he lend his food
savvy as costume manager. Happily, his can-do attitude and
work adding “last-minute garnishes” backstage and sweeping
up costume detritus leads him to realize his culinary character.
The story can feel a titch formulaic, a sort of conveyance for
the real star: Garrity-Riley’s charming gouache, ink, and
colored-pencil costumes, which capture children in all
manner of costume comestibles. What’s not to love about a
pickle wearing a knapsack, a balletic bowl of ramen, or a calm-
looking tin of sardines waiting in the wings? Ages 3–7. (Aug.)Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao
Kat Zhang, illus. by Charlene Chua. Aladdin, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-
1-5344-1133-3
In this tasty story of tenacity and ingenuity, everyone in the
family can make perfect bao except for Amy. Hers are “too
empty or too fat. They have holes them. They leak.” Amy is
good at many other things, Zhang assures readers, and baomaking can’t be too far beyond her grasp—especially since
her parents and grandmother are happy to dedicate a day to
helping. But perfection continues to elude the increasingly
frazzled child, until she figures out how to hack the process by
using smaller dough circles (“Amy-size”), which yield flawless
bao that “are soft and fluffy and so, so delicious.” Chua’s
bright-eyed protagonist is winning from the start, and the
book’s jaunty pacing, sparkly palette, and visual directness are
reminiscent of a classic animated cartoon short. A bao recipe
concludes, as does a revelation that “not-so-perfect bao” taste
just as a good as their tidy counterparts. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)What’s Cooking at 10 Garden Street?
Felicita Sala. Prestel Junior, $14.95 (48p) ISBN 978-3-7913-7397-3
Sala opens with a portrait of a stately building with
wrought-iron balconies and plumes of kitchen odor wafting
from the windows. “Something smells good at n. 10, Garden
Street. Delicious, actually!” Hand-lettered text introduces
the building’s inhabitants, each one at work cooking, while
opposing pages hold the recipes they’re making alongside
vignettes of the ingredients. In one kitchen, Pilar makes
salmorejo; in another, Mister Ping stir-fries small pieces of
broccoli (“His nephew Benjamin calls them little trees”).
Sixteen recipes, some vegetarian, are included in all. Sala’s
portraits glow with domestic affection (decor adheres closely
to the characters’ backgrounds), and kitchen utensils, plants,
and wall art create a quilt of comfort and reassurance. At the
end, Sala reveals what all the cooking is for: a communal dinner
in the back garden. Though the recipes aren’t really suited to
young chefs, Sala’s illustrations are filled with wonderful
objects to notice and a message that nothing draws people
into fellowship like breaking bread together. Ages 6–9. (Sept.)Francesco Tirelli’s Ice Cream Shop
Tamar Meir, illus. by Yael Albert. Kar-Ben, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-
5415-3465-0
An ice cream shop becomes a WWII safe haven in this
family story turned picture book. In Italy, Francesco Tirelli
(Meir’s father-in-law) stops at his uncle’s ice cream cart every
day, even when his mother tells him “Enough!” And he remains
devoted to gelateria, eventually opening a successful ice cream
shop in Budapest, where he meets a Jewish boy named Peter
who shares his affection for the treat. After Nazi forces invade
Hungary, Tirelli offers his seasonally closed store as a hiding
place for Peter’s family and others, who gather together in the
back room, light Hanukkah candles, and pray for the war’s
end. Though the picture book format seems young for readers
within the intended age range, Albert’s mood-shifting illus-
trations and the moving anecdote offer an accessible take on a
terrible chapter of history. Ages 8–12. (Aug.)Good Eats
Picture books embrace collaboration, culture, and the culinary arts.