In My Momma's Kitchen is a great picture book about family traditions. This is a book that many children can relate to. The story shows that the most important things in your childhood happen at home, and more specifically in a specific room (like the kitchen). This story is a collection of short stories that all relate to family unity and togetherness. Also, this book shows traditions and each one is unique. The kitchen is an important place for family and that is where traditions are. The descriptive language in the story shows this. For example, “Every October, Momma makes crab-apple jelly. I wash the apples, Nadene peels them, Momma cooks them, and we all fill in the jars.” Next, the structure of this book is very interesting. Each story was a few pages long, but was separated with a title. The set up of this book was similar to a chapter book. Next, the illustrations were remarkable. Each illustration enhanced the message of each story while helping bring the stories to life. Overall, the main idea of this book is the importance of family and the traditions within a family. (

"From Talking Pots Day, when the aunts all gather to make the biggest pot of soup in town, to gathering round Gran Lee's stove on a cold winter afternoon, to serenades and stories late at night, when the rest of the world is asleep, "seems like everything good that happens in my house happens in my momma's kitchen." A celebration of African-American families and mommas everywhere, In My Momma's Kitchen tells the story of a year's events in everybody's favorite room.
From Talking Pots Day, when the aunts all gather to make the biggest pot of soup in town, to serenades and stories late at night, when the rest of the world is asleep, "seems like everything good that happens in my house happens in my momma's kitchen." A celebration of African-American life and the bonds that unite all families, generation after generation." from Amazon

A girl tells stories about things that happen in her mommas kitchen. Shows importance of the home, the one room where everything is done, family, heritage.

I had mixed feelings about this book after I read it. I liked some parts of it but others I didn’t. I like that the book was descriptive in the language. When reading the pages, I could create an imagine in my mind after I read each page. For example, on one page it says Every October, Momma makes crab-apple jelly. I wash the apples. Nadene peels them, Momma cooks them, and we all fill the jars. This descriptive language helps me create an imagine of the little girl washing the apples, another person peeling them, and her momma cooking them and everyone then scooping it up and filling jars with it. Another thing about the book I liked was the illustrations. Not all the writing has an illustration to go along with it but some pages do and the illustrations match perfectly with the writing on that page or the next page. It helps me better understand and imagine what I am reading. I do not like though how the book has different stories in it. I understand that different things have happened in the little girl’s momma’s kitchen but when its skips to different stories it can make it difficult to understand what is going on. Even though I had mixed feelings about the book, I could figure out the message the book is trying to teach. The message is that a lot happens in the kitchen and the kitchen is where the family comes together. When people come together, it usually involves food and the kitchen is where the food is prepared so the kitchen brings together family. In the book, family was always involved in each little story and it all happened in the kitchen. ( )

I had mixed feelings about this book after reading it. I liked the book because of the different stories that were told and how they all occured in Momma's kitchen. On the other hand, I didn't like how there wasn't a chronological sequence of events leading up to something. Personally, I like to read a stories where there is a definite plot line and the reader can see how the characters develop over that particular span of time established by the story. However, this book did something slightly different.
This book is divided into eight short stories that occured in the kitchen of this house, specifically referred to as "Momma's kitchen". These stories differ by the characters involved, the time of year/seasons, and the particular situation but they all have the same setting of Momma's kitchen. In addition to the setting, there are overarching feelings/emotions of harmony and affection anchored into each story. Even if there is a chaotic situation such as in the story "Janie's Apples" with baskets of apples are spilling onto the floor along with water and the cat running from the kitchen, the family seems to laugh about it in the end. I believe that this is the main purpose of the book because it shows how a family grows through the experiences and events in one room. ( )