Yum! MmMm! Que Rico!: Poetry Review
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mora, Pat. Yum! MmMm!
Que Rico!: Americas' Sproutings. (2007). New York, NY: Lee & Low Books
Inc. ISBN-13: 978-1-58430-271-1
Lopez, Rafael. Yum!
MmMm! Que Rico!: Americas' Sproutings. (2007). Pat Mora. New York, NY: Lee
& Low Books Inc. ISBN-13: 978-1-58430-271-1
SUMMARY/ANALYSIS
This book is a collection of fun haikus revolving around native
foods from the Americas created by Pat Mora. Each short poem follows the haiku
formatting, creating short, rhythmic poems describing such delicious native
foods as papaya, tomato, vanilla, corn, and chocolate. This book also includes short,
informative paragraphs about each of the foods, providing a little background
information on the origins of the food and how they are used. In addition, each
native food choice is accompanied by beautifully created images by illustrator Rafael
Lopez. Adorned with colorful, texturized illustrations, the images in this book
leap off the page. The images are created through the layering of bright colors
over one another and seem to have texture etched into them in the form of lines.
This can be seen in the image provided for the haiku called “Peanut”, that goes
as follows:
Smear nutty butter,
then jelly. Gooey party,
my sandwich and me.
The words themselves create the perfect image of peanut
butter in the reader’s minds; nutty goodness, gooey, and words such as “jelly”
and “sandwich” make it clear that in this instance, peanuts are being used as part
of a peanut butter sandwich. The image provided shows a large slice of bread, layered
in delicious peanut butter, playing in a river of peanut butter alongside a
little boy. Both the boy and slice of bread are smiling and seem to be in
motion, dancing to some unheard music, playing under a shower of peanuts.
Each haiku within the collection is just as lively as “Peanut”
in both imagery created through carefully selected wording and captivating
artistry that seem to be in constant motion. Not only is this collection
beautifully written and illustrated, but serves an educational purpose as well,
providing historical information over each native food showcased in this collection.
This is a must read and must “see” collection of haiku poetry, and the perfect
tool for teaching of native foods of the Americas, imagery, haikus, and more!
POEM PLUS “TAKE 5” ACTIVITIES
The highlighted poem is the haiku from the collection
called “Chocolate” and serves as a perfect example of the remarkable works of
this collection. This fun little haiku serves to bring forth imagery of a
well-loved treat, filling our senses in its description just as chocolate fills
our taste buds and stomachs. Accompanying this haiku is a descriptive paragraph
that tells of the history of chocolate, including its possible place of origin,
what plant it comes from, and how it was originally used. In addition to the
informative paragraph, this poem comes with a captivating illustration of the
wonders and all-around enjoyment of chocolatey treats. The most eye-catching image is that of a
little red-haired girl who is losing herself in her yummy, chocolate chip cookie
treat. She is shown with her eyes closed, a large smile upon her face, and some
chocolatey goodness dripping out of the side of her mouth. In her hands we see
a large, delicious looking chocolate chip cookie with a big bite taken out of
it. This short, simple and relatable haiku is one that demands to be read
aloud!
Chocolate
By Pat Mora
Fudge, cake, pie, cookies.
Brown magic melts on your tongue.
Happy, your eyes dance.
Take 5
Activities
1. Before
reading the poem aloud, ask children about their favorite chocolate treats.
Then read the poem aloud, asking them to imagine these treats.
2. Share
this poem aloud again, this time asking the children to read along, emphasizing
the “yummy” words.
3. Together,
read the small informative paragraph and discuss where chocolate comes from and
what pure cacao pods look like (doing a quick internet search to show them).
4. Pair
this poem with the picture book The
Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling (HarperCollins, 2006). Read
through the book, studying the illustrations, and then discuss what similarities
there are between the poem “Chocolate” and the picture book.
5. Connect
this poem to another poem called “Chocolate” by Francie Lynch (chocolate page, hellopoetry.com).
For more poems about chocolate read “Ode to Chocolate” by Barbara Cooker (author
of More, C&R Press, 2010).
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