Fry Bread
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The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story, by Kevin Noble Maillard, highlights the importance of a certain food in generations of a family and in the culture they share. With spare text and warm illustrations by Juana Martinez-Neal, the author shows that fry bread is not just food but also art, history, a sense of place, and more. "Fry bread is us." The characters are diverse, with many different skin and hair colors and ages represented.
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Fry Bread is Awesome
What's the story?
FRY BREAD: A NATIVE AMERICAN FAMILY STORY shows an elder preparing fry bread and a diverse group of kids gathered around her and other grown-ups helping prepare and then enjoying this cultural dish. Accompanying spare text highlights, in just three-to-five-line chunks, what fry bread means to members of that family: Fry bread is food, fry bread is sound ("The skillet clangs on the stove... the bubbles sizzle and pop"), fry bread is color, flavor, time ("Moments together/ With family and friends"), history, place, nation, and more. There's also the author's recipe for fry bread and added details and refelctions about the topics in the main body of the text in an Author's Note.
Is it any good?
This warm look at a certain dish a family shows its larger cultural and historical significance and celebrates its role in connecting people through time. The spare text is sensual and evocative, capturing details like the sound of the sizzle in the pan as the puffy bread cooks and describing its color, "Light like snow and cream/ Warm like rays of sun."
Fry Bread can spark a discussion of what heritage foods your family eats and what recipes have been handed down for generations. It also doesn't shy away from the painful parts of of Native American history: "The long walk, the stolen land/ Strangers in our own world/ With unknown food/ We made new recipes/ From what we had." It's a story of resilience and joy. "Fry bread is us/ We are still here."
Talk to your kids about ...
Families can talk about how important fry bread is to the family and their culture in Fy Bread: A Native American Family Story. What foods are important in your family? Are they everyday foods or foods you eat only on holidays or special occasions?
The book says "Fry bread is sound" and "Fry bread is shape," and "Fry bread is color." What food does your family eat that has its own special sound, shape, and color?
How does food help tell the history of a people? Are there things your family eats that your ancestors have eaten for hundreds of years? What stories have you heard about them?
Book details
- Author: Kevin Noble Maillard
- Illustrator: Juana Martinez-Neal
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Cooking and Baking, Great Boy Role Models, Great Girl Role Models, History
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
- Publication date: November 13, 2019
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 3 - 6
- Number of pages: 48
- Available on: Nook, Hardback, Kindle
- Award: ALA Best and Notable Books
- Last updated: February 26, 2020
Our editors recommend
For kids who love picture books and Native American stories
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