CCBC Booklists

CCBC Review:

After Mama leaves for work and Big Sis heads to school, young Bobo and his father begin their day’s task: making okra stew. They start in the garden, picking okra and tomatoes, while Grandpa sews baskets on the porch. Later Papa nets shrimp in the creek and Bobo collects shells in his bucket. Next comes chopping and dicing vegetables and adding seasonings to the pot before stirring in the shrimp, while Papa tells Bobo how he learned to make okra stew from his daddy in the same kitchen where they work now. They bake cornbread, and then Papa asks Bobo what else is needed. “‘Rice!’ I say. Papa laughs and sings, ‘Dat’s fa true, gotta have rice with okra stew!’” That evening the family shares a delicious meal that has been enjoyed for generations, clearly a beloved cultural and family tradition. An author’s note states that the Gulla Geechee people are descended from West Africans who were enslaved and brought to the American southeastern coastal region. The book is created “in the spirit of Sankofa, a word from the Twi language of Ghana, which means ‘go back and fetch it,’ or to reach back to the past for that which is good and bring it with us into the future.” The collage-like illustrations exude joy and familial connections. ©2023 Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Illustrated by Natalie Daise

CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 3-7
Age Range: Babies/Toddlers (birth – 3) PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Format: Picture book
Subjects: African Americans Families Fathers Food and Cooking Gardens and Gardening
Diversity subject: Black/African
On CCBC Booklist: Custodians of Wonder: Books About Intergenerational Connections 

Publishers: Henry Holt, Macmillan
Publish Year: 2023
Pages: 40
ISBN: 9781250849663
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Daise

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