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!
Glenda Armand has had a long career as a teacher and school librarian. She now devotes her time to writing historical fiction and picture-book biographies. She is the author of several books, including
All Aboard the Schooltrain,
Black-Eyed Peas and Hoghead Cheese, and
Down on the Bayou. Glenda also cowrote the Texas Bluebonnet Award–winning
Ice Cream Man: How Augustus Jackson Made a Sweet Treat Better with Kim Freeman. Glenda was born in New Orleans and grew up in Los Angeles, eating seafood gumbo with a dollop of potato salad on the side.
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.
