Our Little Kitchen

Tie on your apron!/ Roll up your sleeves!" Every Wednesday, an inclusive pickup team of volunteers--a short Black woman with a commanding presence and a cane, a white parent and small brown-skinned child, and more--gathers in a small community kitchen to prepare a weekly dinner for their neighbors, combining vegetables they harvest from a garden ("Look at these zukes!/ Let's use them up too!"), food bank beans ("Third week in a row!"), and a donation of apples ("Cut off the brown bits, / they're still good to use") for a simple, filling meal. Clear-line panel artwork by Tamaki (My Best Friend) gives the action superhero-grade visual power with swoops and swirls in swaths of tomato red, avocado green, and beet pink. Smells drift deliciously around the group's noses, the chief cook tumbles through cascades of beans, and speech balloons collide like atoms. By making the collaborative meal preparation visually brilliant, Tamaki injects energy into this life-giving celebration. Then it's go time--"I mean it!" yells the crew's leader--and a parade of food arrives in the dining room, where an equally diverse group of neighbors awaits. Pictures in speech balloons reveal conversations shared over the meal: books, hockey, a sore toe. The cooks can't save the world alone, but by taking care of their neighbors ("Is your body warm?// Is your belly full?") they convey the power of thrift, collective action, and community-building. Recipes for an elastic number of diners are included, too. Ages 4-8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Sept.)

Gr 1-3--One can almost smell it cooking, as the ingredients and steps for making vegetable soup precede a tantalizing swirl of steam that leads to the title page and introduction to a small community kitchen. Here friends of all ages and ethnicities come together in "our little kitchen, a tiny, small place" as all prep the kitchen to receive "what we've got, what we've grown." Soup, chili, apple crumble, salad, maybe warm bread? Varying sizes of detailed images include the effects of the cooking, a riot of fonts for the sizzle, chop, glug, slice, peel, trim, toss, splash, squish, and the microwave "beep," while many wait for the "15 minutes!" call to eat. Helpers serve as neighbors wait and treasure the joy of sharing in a time of need. Ending with a note describing the meeting of those facing struggle with an "arm-in-arm" effort, the book's crisp lines of graphic art, bold colors, speech bubbles, and varying perspectives encourage readers of this suggested general purchase title to jump from page to page with simple words and a busy, flowing visual. VERDICT Whether for appetizing story hours, classroom cooking, or inspiration to do good works, this book flows with a love for food and community.--Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano I.S.D., TX