CLAS K-12 Book Box 3: Indigenous populations in Latin America

Celebrated writer Pat Mora has written dozens of books—including many Spanish- and English-language books of poetry—for children, teenagers, and adults. Born in El Paso, Texas, to parents who immigrated from Mexico to the United States, Mora has won several significant awards for her writing and advocacy, including the 2017 Texas Institute of Letters Lon Tinkle Award for Lifetime Achievement. Mora’s delightful children’s books celebrate people like Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a courageous early feminist and Mexican poet, and imaginary figures like Doña Flor, a beloved giant. Santa Fe, New Mexico-based Mora has collaborated with her daughter Libby Martínez on I Pledge Allegiance, a book about immigration and a family’s experience when their great aunt decides to become a U.S. citizen. And her excellent four-part La Familia book series offers young children and their families an entry into bilingual literacy.

Learning about El Día del Niño, the Mexican Day of the Child, inspired Mora to reimagine the holiday in the United States as a day celebrating children, cultural diversity, and literacy. In 1996, Mora launched El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day)—now a national literacy celebration supported by REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, and the Association for Library Services to Children, a division of the American Library Association. Earlier in her career, Mora also coined the term “bookjoy!” which she describes in part as the “private pleasure of settling down with a good book.” (“Literacy Teammates.”)

Born in Mexico City and based in San Diego, California, and San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, celebrated illustrator and muralist Rafael López has illustrated children’s books, seven U.S. Postal stamps, and posters, drawing from his experiences with “Mexican surrealism and myths.” (Wikipedia) His gorgeous illustrations “reflect and honor the lives of all “reflect and honor the lives of all young people” (RafaelLopez-Books.com) with “intense color” (Wikipedia) and powerful imagery.

Some of Pat Mora’s other books for children include:

• A Library for Juana: The World of Sor Juana Inés, a brilliant story of the life of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.
• Doña Flor, the tale of a beloved and kind giant.
• Yo prometo lealtad/I Pledge Allegiance, the story of the pledge of allegiance and a great aunt’s decision to become a U.S. citizen.
• The Bakery Lady/La señora de la panadería, the story of a girl who dreams of following in her grandparents’ footsteps and becoming a baker.
• Tomás and the Library Lady/Tomás y la señora de la biblioteca, a book based on writer Tomás Rivera's childhood, the son of migrant workers and an enthusiastic library user.
• The Rainbow Tulip, a book celebrating one young student’s experience with cultural diversity and May Day. 

Rafael López has illustrated other children’s books including

• My name is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz/Me llamo Celia: La Vida de Celia Cruz, the story of the Cuban singer, which received a Pura Belpré Honor for López’ illustrations in 2006;
• The Day You Begin, a story of resilience in the face of exclusion;
• Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You, a collaboration with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who writes about her own experience with diabetes in childhood, inspiring children to “celebrate[] different abilities kids” (RafaelLopez.com);
• Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln, which won the 2020 Pura Belpré Illustration Medal;
• We’ve Got the Whole World in Our Hands, López’ stunning take on the folk song; and
• Drum Dream Girl, “[i]nspired by the childhood of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl who broke Cuba’s traditional taboo against female drummers[.]” (RafaelLopez.com)

“I love variety, don’t you? I enjoy pansies and roses, parrots and doves, kittens and elephants, apples and cheese, Spanish and English. I like diversity in people and poetry too. I’ve so enjoyed writing my first book of haiku, those wonderful seventeen-syllable poems of Japanese origin. Haiku invite us to leap from image to image. Since I’ve also wanted to write a poetry collection about the native foods of the Americas, I combined these interests into this book of haiku about the foods that first sprouted here, before the Americas were divided into countries.”

Pat Mora, “Dear Reader” Letter, Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Qué Rico! Americas' Sproutings

In this quote—part of her note to the reader—beloved writer Pat Mora describes why she combined the Japanese haiku form with her long-held interest in writing about the Americas' indigenous foods, which helpfully contextualizes her book.

Summary

Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Qué Rico! Americas' Sproutings is a delightful book of haiku, celebrating through vibrant words and illustrations the rich diversity of indigenous foods in the Americas. Bursting with color and evocative descriptions of the history and flavors of “Americas' sproutings,” Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Qué Rico! Americas' Sproutings introduces young readers to indigenous- and Spanish-language words, the origins of indigenous foods, and how indigenous people used—and use—foods like blueberries, prickly pears, and pumpkins.

Groups Represented

Indigenous communities in the Americas

Suggested Age and Reading Level

Ages. This book is excellent for children between the ages of six and ten.

Grade levels. 2 - 4

Lexile Measure. AD970L

Prevalent Themes

Indigenous communities in the Americas, food, fruits, vegetables, haiku

Invite your students to use haiku like author Pat Mora to celebrate their favorite foods!

1. Print Pat Mora's "There's a Poem on My Plate" handout for each of your students.
2. Using Chew on This: Fun Food Facts, Wikipedia, or resources in your school library, invite your students to identify and research their favorite food.
3. Ask each student to write down three key facts about the history, flavor, and texture of their favorite food, and to save a photograph or an illustration of their favorite food.
4. Then, using the printed handout, ask each student to draw their favorite food on their plate.
5. Watch Teaching Kids Haiku with Kwame Alexander and TCM.
6. On the second page of the printed handout, invite each student to write a haiku about their favorite food with five syllables on the first line, seven syllables on the second line, and five syllables on the third line. Remind them to write their haiku in the present tense, using images and details about their favorite food's aroma, taste, texture, and colors.