A mother and daughter celebrate their connections to culture through fresh food in Padma Lakshmi and Juana Martinez-Neal's lush and reverential picture book, Tomatoes for Neela.
Late summer brings Neela and Amma to an outdoor market where they admire and collect a bounty of tomatoes. Mother and child return home to prepare far-away Paati's sauce for canning, and the global union of shared recipes eliminates time and distance between the three generations. In her debut picture book, Lakshmi's kitchen savvy lends authenticity to cooking scenes that highlight the senses: the farmer's market yields "a bag bursting with plump, juicy plum tomatoes'' that simmer with "barely golden" garlic in a sauce "they would savor all winter," then share with Paati when she visits. While tomatoes are the focus here, Lakshmi (Love, Loss, and What We Ate) emphasizes eating seasonally and locally and notes the critical role that farmworkers play. Additional backmatter includes two recipes, tomato facts and an author's note.
The paired warmth of words and images is as cozy as a bowl of Paati's sauce. Caldecott Honoree and Sibert Medalist Martinez-Neal's (Alma and How She Got Her Name; Fry Bread) distinctive acrylic paint and colored pencil work fills dappled spreads brimming with carnelian flowers, steam curls and whimsical portraiture. Expressive Neela exudes confidence and joy as she cooks with her amma, Mother and daughter's gentle curves and rosy cheeks mimicking the bountiful fruit they relish.
The multigenerational relationship through food to cultural heritage, specifically here for women, is peppered with tidbits offering a global perspective and some history of tomatoes in international cuisine. This sweet and informative story should tempt young readers from story time into the kitchen. --Kit Ballenger, youth librarian, Help Your Shelf