Black-eyed peas and hoghead cheese : a story of food, family, and freedom

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Title:

Black-eyed peas and hoghead cheese : a story of food, family, and freedom

Author:

Armand, Glenda, author.

Walthall, Steffi, illustrator.

Summary:

While visiting her grandma in Louisiana, nine-year-old Frances is excited to help prepare the New Year’s Day meal. She listens as Grandma tells stories—dating back to the Atlantic Slave Trade—about the food for their feast. Through these stories, Frances learns not only about the ingredients and the dishes they are making but about her ancestors and their history as well. A celebration of the stories that connect us, this picture book urges us to think about the foods we eat and why we eat them. This book was inspired by the author's own childhood and includes her family's very own recipe for pralines in the back! -- Amazon.

Audience:

Ages 3-7. Crown Books for Young Readers.

Grades K-1. Crown Books for Young Readers.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 26 cm

Genre:

Picture books.

Subject Term:

Cooking -- Juvenile fiction.

Grandmothers -- Juvenile fiction.

African Americans -- Juvenile fiction.

Author(s):

Walthall, Steffi,

Publisher:

Crown Books for Young Readers,

Publication Date:

2022

ISBN:

9780593486153

9780593486146

Publication Information:

New York : Crown Books for Young Readers, [2022]

Call Number:

P ARMAND

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003641084	New Picture Books	ARMAND	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A little girl helping her grandmother prepare a holiday meal learns about the origins of soul food in this powerful picture book that celebrates African American cuisine and identity from an award-winning author.

Know what I like most about Grandma's kitchen?
More than jambalaya? More than sweet potato pie? Even more than pralines?
Grandma's stories! Every meal Grandma cooks comes with a story.
What will today's story be?

While visiting her grandma in Louisiana, nine-year-old Frances is excited to help prepare the New Year's Day meal. She listens as Grandma tells stories--dating back to the Atlantic Slave Trade--about the food for their feast. Through these stories, Frances learns not only about the ingredients and the dishes they are making but about her ancestors and their history as well.

A celebration of the stories that connect us, this picture book urges us to think about the foods we eat and why we eat them. This book was inspired by the author's own childhood and includes her family's very own recipe for pralines in the back!

Author Notes

Glenda Armand has had a long career as a teacher and school librarian and enjoys writing picture-book biographies that inspire children to dream big. Glenda is the author of the award-winning Love Twelve Miles Long, Ira's Shakespeare Dream , and Song in a Rainstorm: The Story of Musical Prodigy Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins. When not writing or practicing the piano, Glenda tends a garden full of succulents and roses. She lives in Los Angeles, California, and you can learn more about her at glenda-armand.com.

Steffi Walthall lives in Sterling, Virginia, and is heavily inspired by mythology, history, film, and science fiction. When working she focuses on crafting a diverse range of characters and unique stories. Steffi is the illustrator of Moving Forward by Chris Barton and Aint't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round by Kathleen J. Kirkwood. In her free time, you can find her listening to Dungeons & Dragons podcasts or playing video games (badly). For more information about Steffi, please visit SteffiWalthallArt.com.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Food serves as a vehicle for history in Armand's exploration of African American culinary traditions. Young Frances likes helping her Creole grandmother cook New Year's Day dinner, because "every meal... comes with a story" linked to their African ancestors. As the two prepare black-eyed peas, hoghead cheese, turnip greens, and pralines, Grandma details how the history of chattel slavery influenced cookery--making the most of what they had, enslaved people created dishes such as jambalaya and gumbo--and fed into tradition: "These foods remind us that we are here and we are free because of the hard work and sacrifices of our ancestors." Walthall's illustrations shift with the times: historic depictions are starker in watercolor-washed line drawings, while contemporary scenes at Grandma's house appear painterly in rich hues. Sidebars and endnotes provide additional historic context. Ages 4--8. (Sept.)