Contrasts and Kitchens: Let Me Fix You a Plate

Today’s picture book pick is…

Let Me Fix You a Plate

Written and illustrated by Elizabeth Lilly

Published by Neal Porter Books in 2021.

Summary

A girl and her family visit both sets of grandparents: Mamaw and Pawpaw in West Virginia and Abuela and Abuelo in Florida.

First line

“Once a year, on a Friday night, my family leaves the city and drives for hours and hours to a mountain in West Virginia.”

Favorite line

“Outside the stray cat who lives in the old trailer meows and morning mountain fog wrinkles and rolls.”

This story beautifully uses both verbal and visual contrasts to tell a story about the similarities and differences between two kitchens. We love Mamaw and Pawpaw’s blue tiles and cat plates and banana pudding. We love Abuelo and Abuela’s house full of relatives, arroz, flan, and Spanish. And my favorite part is that the story returns to the immediate family who has their own kitchen too. They visit both sides but have a kitchen with traditions all their own.

I love how Elizabeth uses color to support the contrast between families. And all of the details give so much personality to every family. Yet there’s a unity across all illustrations that connects the parts to the whole. And I LOVE the character’s poses in every single spread.

Support this creator

Purchase a copy from your local bookstore and leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads.