YUM! MMMM! QUE RICO! by Pat Moro

Mora, Pat. 2007. YUM! MMMM! QUE RICO!. Ill. by Rafael Lopez. NY: Lee & Low Books. ISBN 978-1-58430-271-1

YUM! MMMM! QUE RICO! By Pat Moro is a delightful journey through the senses featuring a variety of foods along the way.  Each page is brightly illustrated to reflect the featured food.  The pages contain a carefully crafted haiku on one side and an informative paragraph of interesting facts about the featured food on the other page.  With food native to the Americas featured in the book, kids are sure to encounter some old favorites like “gooey” peanut butter and “brown magic” chocolate and connect with the text.  The engaging topics will open them up to the informative passages offering the history and other pertinent facts.

This book offers up layer after layer of cultural diversity.  The pictures and foods have a decisively Hispanic feel, but the informational texts often reveal that the origin of many of these foods is far beyond the boundaries of South America.  The haiku pairings offer insight and exposure to this Japanese poetry form in the context of these seemingly unrelated cultures.  The author masterfully makes the text accessible to younger children by making it about food—most of which they have experienced for themselves.   However, Moro does throw in some more exotic foods such as prickly pear and papaya to build interest and take the opportunity to share a potentially new food with a receptive audience.  The author also sprinkles a number of Spanish words throughout the poetry, such as “luna” and “dulces” giving it a very ethnic and interesting taste. 

One of the stand-out poems of the collection is “Prickly Pear” with its vibrant illustrations underscoring the delightful haiku.

Prickly Pear

Red desert wonder.

Cactus fruit becomes syrup

and dulces.  Surprise!

It would likely be necessary to explain that a prickly pear is a cactus.  By activating prior knowledge with questioning before reading the piece, students will likely show negative perceptions of a cactus plant.  Many may even have first hand experience with its “prickly” qualities.  Kids will be surprised to read the haiku and accompanying informational text to reveal that the cactus fruit is frequently used in sweet treats.  After reading the book, it would be fun to have students brainstorm a list of favorite foods and chose one for a poem.  Depending on the age appropriateness, students could even tackle their own haiku.  Distribute a variety of art supplies and have students to decorate their own haiku.  The next step may be to continue with the study of other Hispanic poetry or explore more traditional Japanese haiku.