"Some of my fondest memories from childhood are of cooking with the women in my family. It is the foundation for all I have spent my life working on." -Padma Lakshmi
Neela loves cooking with her amma and writing down the recipes in her notebook. It makes her feel closer to her paati who lives far away in India. On Saturdays, Neela and Amma go to the green market and today they are buying tomatoes to make Paati's famous sauce. But first, Neela needs to learn about all the different kinds of tomatoes they can pick from. And as Neela and Amma cook together, they find a way for Paati to share in both the love and the flavors of the day.
Bestselling author and host of Bravo's Top Chef and Hulu's Taste the Nation Padma Lakshmi takes young readers on an intergenerational journey full of delicious flavors and fun food facts that celebrates a family's treasured recipes. And Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Juana Martinez-Neal brings this circle of women to life with vivid detail and warmth. Tomatoes for Neela lovingly affirms how we can connect to other cultures, as well as to our own, through food.
Juana Martinez-Neal is the winner of the Pura Belpré Illustrator Award for La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya and the Caldecott Honor Award for Alma and How She Got Her Name, which she also wrote. Originally from Lima, Peru, she lives with her husband and three children in Arizona where she cooks with lots of Roma tomatoes.
"The perfect food book to share with the kids in your life ... Lakshmi's book is a gentle, but urgent, ode to treasure the food traditions that are passed down through the generations, and tie us all to our cultures and forebears in ways we often take for granted."
Lisa Tolin is a picture book author and journalist.
At Joe’s Pub, @PadmaLakshmi gave us a glimpse at the origin story of her beautiful picture book Tomatoes for Neela — there was a dead squirrel involved. @PENamerica #PENWorldVoices https://t.co/P5wLkUylA5
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‘[I] wanted to encourage families to cook together’: Padma Lakshmi on her first children’s book ‘Tomatoes for Neela’ | @IndianExpress https://t.co/bo7YWTTHJF https://t.co/jJwSyLaGro
"Martinez-Neal's warmly textured, beautifully detailed illustrations are the perfect celebration of intergenerational love." -Kirkus Reviews
"Exquisite illustrations by Caldecott Honor Book author-illustrator Martinez-Neal make this title one that belongs front and center on shelves everywhere." --Booklist
"The intergenerational warmth and pleasure in cooking together are palpable. Part informational, part family story, this attractive book will speak to young kitchen helpers and those with loved ones in far-off places." -School Library Journal