Review by Booklist Review
Ages 5-8. Dooley affirms the multiethnic nature of American life within the always attractive context of food. When Carrie's little brother, Anthony, is late for supper, she goes looking for him in her neighbors' kitchens. Mr. and Mrs. Darlington, from Barbados, are just sitting down to a meal of rice with black-eyed peas, bacon, and onions. Carrie stays long enough to have a taste, then goes on to the Diazes' house and Puerto Rican rice cooked with turmeric and pigeon peas. She makes her way through Vietnamese, Indian, Chinese, and Haitian rice dishes at various neighbors' homes before finding Anthony at home with an Italian meal of risi e bisi. The fun here is in the paradox of everyone eating the same food but in such different ways. Each family is introduced with a few words about its culture or homeland as well as its cuisine, and all are warmly depicted in their kitchens. For those who work up a taste for rice while reading, there are recipes for the dishes at the end of the book. (Some recipes may intimidate the novice--for example, the term saute is used in several places but never explained.) Although the CIP places this in nonfiction, there is a story here, and libraries may want to place this on their fiction shelves. ~--Leone McDermott
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Carrie canvasses the neighborhood, trying to round up her younger brother in time for dinner. Every household she visits represents a different ethnic heritage--Fendra Diaz's grandmother lives in Puerto Rico, Madame Bleu hails from Haiti, the Huas have emigrated from China, etc. All the families are either preparing or consuming dinner, and Carrie discovers that despite divergent backgrounds, ``everybody cooks rice.'' The multicultural smorgasbord she samples includes rice and black-eyed peas from Barbados, biryani from India, Vietnamese nuoc cham . However correct politically, Dooley's first book is like food for an invalid: wholesome indeed but numbingly bland. Her plot unfolds in an atmosphere of vacant inevitability and her writing lacks style. Thornton's static illustrations, meanwhile, recall the false harmony of Sally, Dick and Jane. Recipes for the rice dishes are included, but most young readers will prefer to sink their teeth into a more highly seasoned story. Ages 5-8. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-- Carrie travels from one house to another, looking for her brother at dinnertime. Each family invites her in for a taste of what they are cooking; thus, she samples the ethnic diversity of her neighborhood through the rice dishes they prepare. At home, her own Italian family is indulging in risi e bisi . All the recipes are included at the end of the book. Thornton's illustrations have that flat, depthless look of primitive art. Colors are strong and brilliant primaries with very little black shading. The geometric forms displayed in the multihued houses of the street are especially nice. Yes, everybody cooks rice, and everybody eats rice--these commonalities do bring us together, a lesson worth repeating again and again. --Ruth Semrau, Lovejoy School, Allen, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
As Carrie wanders about her multicultural neighborhood looking for her little brother, every household she visits is preparing rice in a unique way. The theme of 'all men are brothers,' at least in their eating habits, is obvious, but the illustrations are warm and homey. Recipes. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
