Adelita and the veggie cousins

Gr 1-4-Adelita begins her first day at a new school and is worried about making friends. The teacher, Miss Cantu, introduces the students to vegetables and allows each child to choose one. Adelita and Jasmine select a yellow and a green vegetable that look very similar, and Miss Cantu confirms that they are both squashes. More vegetables are introduced and Adelita notices that the brown vegetables look similar and asks if they are "veggie cousins." She makes another new friend, and she and Lisa call themselves "veggie friends." Throughout the day, the teacher tells her class about the importance of healthy eating. Spanish terms appear in the English text, such as "chayote," "malanga," and "cassava." The last two pages have a recipe in both English and Spanish for the "1-2-3 Super Calabacita Soup." The bold, colorful illustrations capture the action well.-Cindy Moreno, San Antonio Public Library, TX (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

calabacitas," and Jasmine proclaims how they rhyme with her pretty name, Adelita. The dialogue-driven text is rendered in both English and Spanish, which are separated by pictures of cooked and uncooked vegetables. The text appears opposite deeply hued, realistic classroom scenes that bring out a learning environment populated by a multicultural group of kids, including a boy in a wheelchair. Other vegetables used in Latino cuisine--cassava, malanga, yauta and sweet potato--are also woven into the discussion. As the day's healthy-eating lesson comes to a close, friendships grow and expand into reading-circle time; Adelita and her classmates parallel a "rainbow of vegetables" as veggie friends. The dual message of nutrition and diversity will probably find its place in today's curriculum and can certainly augment units on food, language and culture. (Picture book. 5-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.