Fry Bread
A Native American Family Story
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4.0 • 5 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
An American Indian Youth Literature Picture Book Honor Winner
“A wonderful and sweet book . . . Lovely stuff.” —The New York Times Book Review
Told in lively and powerful verse by debut author Kevin Noble Maillard, Fry Bread is an evocative depiction of a modern Native American family, vibrantly illustrated by Pura Belpre Award winner and Caldecott Honoree Juana Martinez-Neal.
Fry bread is food.
It is warm and delicious, piled high on a plate.
Fry bread is time.
It brings families together for meals and new memories.
Fry bread is nation.
It is shared by many, from coast to coast and beyond.
Fry bread is us.
It is a celebration of old and new, traditional and modern, similarity and difference.
A Charlotte Huck Recommended Book
A Publishers Weekly Best Picture Book
A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book
A School Library Journal Best Picture Book
A Booklist Editor's Choice
A Shelf Awareness Best Children's Book
A Goodreads Choice Award Semifinalist
A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book
A National Public Radio (NPR) Best Book
An NCTE Notable Poetry Book
A NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People
A ALA Notable Children's Book
An ILA Notable Book for a Global Society
Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year List
One of NPR's 100 Favorite Books for Young Readers
Nominee, Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Award
Nominee, Illinois Monarch Award
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Using brief statements that begin "fry bread is," Maillard, who is a member of the Mekusukey band of the Seminole Nation tribe, creates a powerful meditation on the food as "a cycle of heritage and fortune." In each spread, descriptions of fry bread range from the experiential (flavor, sound) to the more conceptual (nation, place). Bolstering the bold statements, spare poems emphasize fry bread in terms of provenance ("Fry bread is history/ The long walk, the stolen land"), culture ("Fry bread is art/ Sculpture, landscape, portrait"), and community ("Fry bread is time/ On weekdays and holidays/ Supper or dinner/ Powwows and festivals"). In blues and browns with bright highlights, Martinez-Neal's wispy art features a diverse group of six children carrying ingredients and learning about each statement. A fry bread recipe concludes the book, and an author's note offers vital, detailed context about this varied dish and its complex history ("The story of fry bread is the story of American Indians"). Ages 3 6.
