Something's Happening on Calabash Street: A Story with Thirteen Recipes - Hardcover

Enderle, Judith Ross

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0811824500 ISBN 13: 9780811824507

Publisher: Chronicle Books, 2000

Synopsis

Mishca is curious. Something's happening on Calabash Street. The air is filled with the scents of Mrs. Puccini's bread, the Chambal's curry, the Dakarai's yams and the Chofleur's pie. Mischa helps Mama and Baba stuff cabbages round as the moon. When the sky turns rosy, Mama fills her favorite dish, Baba puts on her best dress, and Mischa leads his family down the street to where lanterns are lit and a steel band has begun to play...it's the Calabash Street Fair! Deliciously diverse, Something's Happening on Calabash Street includes child-friendly recipes for each of the dishes featured in the story, making it a picturebook and cookbook all in one.

About this title

About the Author

Judith Ross Enderle and Stephanie Jacob Gordon are the authors of several books for children. They live in Southern California.

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 2-Mischa and his mother join their neighbors at an open-air market where they all shop for the ingredients for their contributions to their street festival. The brief, rhyming text is followed by 13 recipes for the specialties served at the Calabash Street Fair; each one includes a note about which parts of the preparation children can perform. Unfortunately, not all of the countries of origin are indicated. While some are obvious, such as the Garcias' salsa and chips, others are not. The colorful acrylic-and-oil illustrations, in tones of hot pink, vibrant orange, teal, and chartreuse, give the book an exuberant, childlike perspective. A recurring image of hands-hands joined to frame a street scene; hands selecting, preparing, and eating food; and hands playing musical instruments or moving to the rhythm-extends the theme of neighbors joining together and reaching out to one another.
Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A cursory look at cultural influence complicates this celebratory look at a street fair, which includes a mouthwatering set of international recipes. While Mischa's grandmother makes golubtsi (stuffed cabbage), other families get ready, too. The text "At the market, neighbors fill baskets/ with food for a favorite dish./ The Garcias pick colorful peppers/ The Yamaguchis choose a fish" appears with an illustration of a Mexican man in a white T-shirt and straw hat evaluating a red pepper, while a Japanese woman in a silk pink coat selects an item for sushi. The multicultural neighbors cook all day, then gather for a potluck dinner and dancing. Ingemanson makes her picture-book debut with acrylic-and-oil spreads in flavorful salsa (or chutney) colors. In the detailed recipes, Enderle and Gordon (Francis the Earthquake Dog) offer suggestions for adult and child cooperation; children are invited to stir ingredients while parents use the stove (some readers may be troubled, however, by errorsD"The Trang's Tropical Fruit Salad" and "The Cohen's Matzo Ball Soup," for instance). But the trickiest equipment in this kitchen proves to be the melting pot. Grown-upsDwho will understand why the Cohens bring matzo balls and the O'Briens serve stewDwill have to decide how best to teach younger readers the significance of names and menus. Ages 4-8. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0811824500
• ISBN 13: 9780811824507
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Ingemanson Donna
• Number of pages: 44