“A stunning and necessary historical picture book.”
— Kirkus Reviews (Starred)

FREEDOM SOUP NOW AVAILABLE!!!

4 Starred Reviews * Junior Library Guild Selection

AVAILABLE FROM:

FREEDOM SOUP INFO:

Author: Tami Charles

Illustrator: Jacqueline Alcántara

Candlewick Press

For Ages: 5-9 years

ISBN 9780763689773

Book Description:

Join the celebration in the kitchen as a family makes their traditional New Year’s soup — and shares the story of how Haitian independence came to be.

The shake-shake of maracas vibrates down to my toes.
Ti Gran’s feet tap-tap to the rhythm.

Every year, Haitians all over the world ring in the new year by eating a special soup, a tradition dating back to the Haitian Revolution. This year, Ti Gran is teaching Belle how to make the soup — Freedom Soup — just like she was taught when she was a little girl. Together, they dance and clap as they prepare the holiday feast, and Ti Gran tells Belle about the history of the soup, the history of Belle’s family, and the history of Haiti, where Belle’s family is from. In this celebration of cultural traditions passed from one generation to the next, Jacqueline Alcántara’s lush illustrations bring to life both Belle’s story and the story of the Haitian Revolution. Tami Charles’s lyrical text, as accessible as it is sensory, makes for a tale that readers will enjoy to the last drop.

REVIEWS:

*STARRED REVIEW. "A Haitian grandmother and granddaughter share a holiday, a family recipe, and a story of freedom...Charles’ prose and Alcántara’s illustrations work perfectly in tandem to re-create a Haiti that is heartbreakingly lush and tropical."

– Kirkus Reviews, starred

*STARRED REVIEW."The glorious, expressive illustrations will make everyone wish they had a Ti Gran in their lives as she and Belle exuberantly dance, snuggle, chop, and stir their way through the day....From Ti Gran ceremoniously adorning Belle with a matching apron to the final view of city windows full of revelers, this book is a start-to-finish celebration of family, history, and culture."

– Anna Haase Krueger, School Library Journal, starred

*STARRED REVIEW."The dynamically detailed mixed-media artwork swirls with motion, feeling, and references to Haitian culture, and Alcántara (The Field) creates memorable characters in Ti Gran and Belle...this vibrant title is bound to teach, empower, and rumble the bellies of its readers." 

– Publishers Weekly, starred

*STARRED REVIEW."Tami Charles and Jessica Alcántara's picture book celebration of Afro-Caribbean culture, familial bonds and food reminds that there's nothing like the taste of freedom--and warm stew on a snowy day."

–Shelley Diaz, Shelf Awareness, starred

“In this immersive picture book, Charles and Alcántara transport readers to the kitchen of Belle and Ti Gran as they make a traditional Haitian soup…Alcántara does an equally wonderful job, imbuing her mixed-media artwork with lively movement and bold color while Belle and Ti Gran are busy in the kitchen and movingly juxtaposing those scenes with images of the Haitian revolution.”

– Tiana Coven, Booklist

"It’s New Year’s Day, and this year Belle gets to help her grandmother make New Year’s Day Freedom Soup, traditional in Ti Gran’s home country of Haiti...Pencil, marker, and gouache illustrations are highly kinetic in some scenes, with Belle’s braids and Ti Gran’s earrings swinging joyously as they cook (and a lot of salt and pepper flung around), but the art is also tender in vignettes where Ti Gran guides Belle’s little hands."

— Deborah Stevenson, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB)