Rice and Rocks Trade Book

by Sandra L Richards

Overview

Tradition takes flight in Rice & Rocks, a picture book celebrating culture and diversity.

Giovanni's friends are coming over for Sunday dinner, and his grandmother is serving rice and beans. Giovanni is embarrassed—he does not like "rice and rocks" and worries his friends will think the traditional Jamaican dish is weird. But his favorite Auntie comes to the rescue. She and Giovanni's pet parrot, Jasper, take him on a magical journey across the globe, visiting places where people eat rice and rocks. This exciting story celebrates the varied traditions of every culture while also highlighting the delicious similarities that bring us all together.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781940014739
Publisher:	Wise Ink Creative Publishing
Publication date:	08/28/2016
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

SANDRA L. RICHARDS is a debut picture book author. With Rice & Rocks, Sandra brings a unique contribution to the world of children's books. An American-born daughter of Jamaican immigrant parents, she hopes the book will serve as an educational resource for families seeking to teach their children the value of their heritage and the importance of cultural diversity. Learn more at http://sandralrichards.com.

About the illustrator
Megan Kayleigh Sullivan graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 2012 with a degree in Illustration. She is currently working as a freelance illustrator and storyboard artist, and aspires towards a career in the film and animation industry as a concept artist, character designer, or visual development artist (or d., all of the above). She enjoys traveling, writing, telling stories, and hula-hooping. Visit her at her website.

What People are Saying About This

Executive Director, Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club - Daniel Quintero

"Rice and Rocks is a must-read for youngsters developing their convictions, their sense of self, and for learning about the importance of different cultures in our society."

Syndicated columnist and author of Cooking with Grease - Donna Brazile

"Rice and Rocks has something, literally, for every child. It teaches the joy of sharing and bonding over mealtime, and the universality of celebrating holidays with traditional food (in this case, the same dish). Rice and Rocks takes me back to when I was a girl in New Orleans. Stories that combined exciting fantasy with sound life lessons remain vivid in my memory, as this one will."

Grammy and Billboard Award-winning artist, founding artistic director of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra - Irvin Mayfield

"I love a Monday night in New Orleans eating red beans and rice, just like the Sunday night tradition in Jamaica described in Rice and Rocks. Sandra Richards captures the heart of those traditions—and similar traditions across the world—in a way that reminds us how similar we all, no matter where we're from. And that the main character plays the best instrument in the world—the trumpet—wasn't a bad call, either! I highly recommend this book."

Editorial Reviews

2016-09-30
In this illustrated children's book, a young boy learns to be proud of his family's Jamaican food traditions. Giovanni loves Sundays, when he plays his trumpet, reads comics, draws pictures of frogs, and spends time with Jasper, his African grey parrot. But what he loves most is when his whole family comes to visit; he's especially fond of Auntie, who gave him Jasper. Today, Giovanni's friends Emily, Aaron, and Gabby are planning to come by, too, but he's worried that they won't like his family's traditional Sunday dinner of Jamaican stewed chicken with rice and beans, which isn't his favorite, either; he calls it "rice and rocks." He tells Auntie, "We have to break the tradition today!" But she and Jasper have another plan: they magically take him for a trip around the world to visit the places where Giovanni's friends' families come from—Japan, Puerto Rico, and New Orleans. At each stop, he learns that variations on rice and beans are served for celebrations and Sunday dinners. The kicker is when Giovanni discovers that Louis Armstrong, his hero, loved rice and beans so much that he signed his letters "Red Beans and Ricely Yours." Later, Giovanni tells his friends proudly that "Rice and beans are my grandma's specialty….On Sundays, it's a tradition in our family to eat it." In her debut children's book, author Richards shows a good sense of the rhythms and repetitions that give pleasing structure to a children's book; for example, in each visit abroad, the country's national bird is there to greet Giovanni and his cohorts. Richards' characters have plenty of appeal; Auntie, for example, is an ideal mentor who teaches the lesson about appreciation with fun and humor, never by scolding, and Giovanni is artistic, musical, and loves animals. Sullivan's delightful illustrations also contribute to the story, as they are well-composed, full of atmosphere and detail, and attractively hued. A beautiful, amusing tribute to family traditions.

Kirkus Reviews