sandra l. richards

“I have not had red beans and rice since my last visit to N’Awlins. This is really good,” said Gabby, putting another spoonful in her mouth.
Aaron looked confused. “Are we celebrating something?”
“We are celebrating family, friends, and traditions,” I said. I grinned, glad that my friends liked rice and rocks. “It’s really nice to spend time with all of you.” - Pgs 31-32

Rice & Rocks is a beautifully illustrated, culturally diverse children's book centered around my favorite topic...food! In it the author infuses a bit of make believe to give us history lessons about the foods and family traditions of 4 different countries all while teaching the main character, Giovanni to eat his veggies and most importantly, to be proud of his family's traditions and the time he has to spend with them. I believe the above quote captures the heart of it for me.

Parents will enjoy reading it with/to their little ones because the illustrations compliment the story perfectly. This book will also work as a good conversation starter for acceptance of self and others for school age children.

Note: the rating on my blog is actually 4.5 but I rounded up
… (altro)

This author is new to me, the book is her debut and it doesn’t disappoint. My first impression of the book was that it was a good sized hardback (perfect for frequent use) with a very appealing cover (the artwork is lovely in its detail) and the artwork detail is maintained throughout the book. This detail adds to the text within the book and really draws in the reader. Until I read this book I had never heard about a dish called rice and rocks (rice and beans).

The story is about a young boy called Giovanni who is excited that it’s Sunday because that’s the day that all his family come to visit. Also on this day Giovanni has some friends coming over which he’s concerned about because his Grandma is cooking rice and rocks (he assumes that his friends won’t appreciate this dish because they aren’t of his nationality). What he finds out is that not only is he very wrong (all his friends have had this dish and loved it albeit they each call it by different names), but that this dish is enjoyed by many people the world over.

I really enjoyed this book and I will be very happy to read it to any child of any age. It teaches us all that we can’t assume that people of different skin colours don’t share similar traditions and/or food with ourselves. The teaching about appreciating different cultures is a very important message that we need to hear these days.… (altro)