Today I am sharing with you a new multicultural picture book that shares the messages that we are all different but very much the same. It is Rice and Rocks by Sandra L. Richards and illustrated by Megan Kayleigh Sullivan. It is being released next week!!
In this story Giovanni is a Jamaican American who loves his pet bird, Jasper, and his family as well as playing his trumpet. Sundays are one of his favorite days because his family comes over for Sunday dinner. His least favorite part is that they always have a traditional Jamaican rice and beans which he refers to as rice and rocks. He feeds the beans to his favorite aunt's dogs when no one is looking. This week he is having three friends over for Sunday dinner and is embarrassed about the meal. What will happen if his friends do not like it? His favorite Aunt uses Jasper's magic to show Giovanni that his friends eat their own versions of rice and beans. His friends' families are from Puerto Rico, New Orleans and Japan. After realizing that other cultures have their own rice and beans Giovanni is able to embrace his tradition and is proud of his grandmother's meal and especially when his friends love it too.
I love the overall message in this book. A traditional meal for many cultures is some form of rice and beans. The beans may change and how the meal is prepared is different, but overall the cultures have similar ingredients. The imagination is very intense. After all I have never met a bird that can be part of an intense human discussion like Jasper--never mind the magic of rubbing his beak to travel the world and talk to other birds. Of course the magic adds to the fun of the book. The message of comparing and finding similarities in different cultures is a great one and this book does it perfectly!! I hope you will check it out!!
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