Natalie Daise

Beautifully written, Okra Stew: A Gullah Geechee Family Celebration is heartwarming, and compelling, and shines throughout with themes of family and food, and their emphasis on passing down cultural traditions.

The artwork is eye-catching and appears to be stacked. Each singular element of a scene leaps off the pages with a layered effect of images against patterns that embrace the spirit of togetherness.

The language and storytelling are detailed and unique to the Gullah Geechee culture. The presentation is accessible and encourages conversation around the importance and meaning of cultural traditions. Consequently, it is an amalgamation fit for an informative and engaging reading experience.

Aside from the book’s core message and stylized artwork, other highlights of this book are the Okra Stew recipe, the addition of the Sankofa symbol in the background, meaning “go back and fetch it” in the Ghanian Twi language, and the Gullah language sprinkled throughout the narrative.

I enjoyed seeing the Gullah language so much that I created a hidden message puzzle with words from the Gullah language written in the book. Feel free to download a copy from the blog post https://readingbeyondthebookcover.com/okra-stew-natalie-daise/.

In the comments, get the conversation going by sharing your cultural traditions or recipes and their importance to you.… (mere)

Aloving family, a verdant garden, and Gullah Geechee traditions are key ingredients to this delightful stew of a story.

When our young narrator, Bobo, awakes, Papa is already in the kitchen preparing warm biscuits for the child and the rest of the family: Mama, Big Sis, and Grandpa. But the day’s work is just starting as Papa and Bobo set out to cook okra stew for dinner tonight. The hard work and garden-grown veggies that go into this meal are on full display in illustrations that rely on acrylic paints, textiles, and various natural materials. Bobo describes the smells and sensations of the “dayclean” (a Gullah term for morning) with vivid detail and a youthfully inviting charm. Midday has father and child gathering shrimp and seashells at a nearby creek, and, upon their return home to the kitchen, the cooking finally begins. Chopped veggies fly across the page and take center stage before making their way into the pot, and the warmth of the kitchen gives way to a flashback of Papa and Grandpa cooking together a generation ago. The recipe is mouthwateringly detailed, skillet-baked cornbread is prepped as a side, and Bobo’s glee is palpable when the rice “rains down into the pot.” Mama and Big Sis return from work and school just in time for stew, and Grandpa joins them, too.

Delicious from “dayclean” to “when the sun red fa down.” (more information on the Gullah Geechee people, glossary of Gullah term, recipe for okra stew) (Picture book. 4-8)

-Kirkus Review… (mere)