Giovanni is excited that his friends are coming over for Sunday dinner, but his grandmother is serving rice and beans! Giovanni is okay with the rice, but doesn't especially like the "rocks", and he is embarrassed and worried that his friends will think their traditional Jamaican dish is weird.
Then his favorite Auntie comes to the rescue! She and Giovanni’s pet parrot, Jasper, take Giovanni on a magical flight across the globe, to the places where each of his Sunday dinner visitors' families are from.
Giovanni is in for a surprise: in the different places they visit - Puerto Rico, New Orleans, and Japan - he finds lots of people eating "rice and rocks" too. He and his friends have a lot more in common than he realized!
As you can see, Megan Kayleigh Sullivan's brightly colored and engaging pictures perfectly illustrate this story that celebrates the traditions of family heritage.
It's fun to help our children embrace the family histories and cultural traditions of the music and foods that are part of our ancestry. And it's good to learn about the histories and family traditions of others - appreciating and honoring our differences as well as our similarities.
I'm all about that - even more so after watching episode after episode of PBS's binge-worthy Finding Your Roots on Netflix!
Series host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. says:
As a parent, as well as an historian, I encourage you to introduce your children to their family history. A great way to start is by showing them photo albums and scrapbooks from the past. That's how my father got my attention. Look for family documents such as obituaries, birth certificates, diplomas - - anything that might show your ancestors' names and details of their lives. Talk to older family members. Track down distant relatives. And, write everything down!
(source pbs.org: "Forming a Love of Family History" by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.)
Bravo to Sandra L. Richards for writing down a magical story full of humor and fun that celebrates her traditions and will inspire children to appreciate their roots - and eat their rice and beans!
Rice and Rocks
Age Range: 5 - 8 years/Preschool - Grade 2
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Wise Ink Creative Publishing (August 23, 2016)
Our country is such a melting pot, full of many wonderful cultural traditions stories, music, and food - like those celebrated in this book. Go here for a past post I did of books that honor America's history and diverse heritage. And here for some Scandinavian stories, that are from my ancestry!
