Plátanos Are Love

by Alyssa Reynoso-Morris, Mariyah Rahman (Illustrator)

Overview

A delicious picture book about the ways plantains shape Latinx culture, community, and family, told through a young girl’s experiences in the kitchen with her abuela.

Abuela says, “plátanos are love.”
I thought they were food.
But Abuela says they feed us in more ways than one.

With every pop of the tostones, mash of the mangú, and sizzle of the maduros, a little girl learns that plátanos are her history, they are her culture, and—most importantly—they are love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781665902731
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	04/11/2023
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	117,812
Product dimensions:	10.30(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD630L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Alyssa Reynoso-Morris is a queer Afro-Latinx Dominican and Puerto Rican writer, wife, mother, and community organizer. During the day she is a chief of staff working with community members, nonprofit organizations, and government officials to make the world a better place. Then she puts her writer’s hat on to craft heartfelt stories about home, family, food, and the fun places she has been. Alyssa was born and raised in the Bronx and currently lives in Philadelphia with her partner and daughter. Alyssa is honored to be a Musa with Las Musas Books which celebrates the diversity of voice, experience, and power of Latinx children’s authors. She hopes you enjoy her stories.

Mariyah Rahman was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago. She spent her earliest years climbing trees, digging for fossils, and drawing on walls with crayons. Today, she is an illustrator for children’s books and entertainment but has still never found a fossil.

Editorial Reviews

02/27/2023

Cooking plantains with Abuela, young Esme grows to appreciate her family lineage in this intergenerationally focused first-person tale, a double author and illustrator debut that incorporates English and Spanish throughout. Shopping at the market, Esme learns from Abuela that plátanos are more than just food: “They feed us in/ more ways than one.” Finding that “our ancestors picked plátanos de los árboles,” Esme imagines she is “plucking them from high up in the trees,/ like mi familia from long ago.” And Esme transcribes Abuela’s recipes in a notebook while watching her grandmother cook various dishes with the ingredient, learning that their forbears weren’t allowed to read, write, or draw. Rahman’s digital illustrations use bright, warm colors for contemporary spreads and desaturated greens and browns to delineate scenes occurring in the past, contributing to a thoughtful story of legacy. A glossary and plátanos recipes conclude. Characters cue as Afro-Latinx. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 08/25/2023

PreS-Gr 2—Esme and her abuela cook different dishes with plátanos, which can be found in many Latin American cuisines, while bonding over shared history and familial love. Plantains, and all the dishes they are used in, are delicious, but they mean more to Esme's family and culture than something to eat—"Abuela says they feed us in more ways than one." The grandmother shares with Esme and her little sister how plantains are the food of their ancestors; recipes were passed down in secret, because the formerly enslaved weren't allowed to read or write. The trio make tostones, maduros, and mangú for family and friends, and the love that goes into making each meal can be felt in every word and image in this joyous work. Sprinkled throughout with Spanish words, the narrative is lyrical and filled with fun food words that often appear in a different font and beg to be read aloud. The Spanglish isn't awkward, keeping in line with Spanish-language syntax. The illustrations are luminous, with the warm browns and yellows of the cooked plátanos and the greens of the peels as a motif. Tropical pinks and blues also shine through. The skin color of the characters are shades of brown, and the little girl's family members' different hair textures and hair styles reflect the diversity of Latin America. Recipes for the three dishes mentioned in the book are included in the back matter in addition to a glossary. VERDICT A stunning, must-have picture book about food, community, and love.—Shelley M. Diaz

School Library Journal

2023-01-25
An ode to a beloved comfort food is also a love letter to family ties.

Esme, a dark brown–skinned child with long curly brown hair, and Abuela, who also has dark brown skin, visit the market to buy plátanos. When Abuela reminds Esme that plátanos are love, the young narrator muses, “I thought they were food. But Abuela says they feed us in more ways than one.” Esme receives a brief history lesson during the shopping trip, learning that their ancestors picked plátanos from trees long ago. Esme helps Abuela prepare several mouthwatering plátano dishes and hears more of their family history as they cook. Esme’s ancestors were forbidden from reading, writing, and drawing, so they memorized them and secretly passed the recipes down through generations. The tasty dishes of tostones y patacones, tajadas y maduros, and mangú y fufú are prepared with love and shared with friends and family. Esme writes the recipes down in a notebook titled “Nuestra Familia’s Cookbook” and notes that “Abuela says plátanos are our past. I say plátanos are our present. And with this book, plátanos will always be our future.” Text that incorporates unitalicized Spanish throughout and warm and inviting illustrations convey affection for both food and family and will leave readers hungry for plátanos. Characters throughout the book read as Afro-Latine. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A cozy story for the stomach and the soul. (glossary, recipes) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews