Freedom Soup by Tami Charles
Freedom Soup written by Tami Charles and illustrated by Jacqueline Alcantara was the first kids book I’ve read in a few years that wasn’t read to a child. And while I didn’t pick this up on a whim (I’m using it for prompt four of the 2020 Reading Women Challenge: “A Picture Book Written/Illustrated by a BIPOC Author” ), I’m so glad I did.
It’s a sweet story of a granddaughter and grandmother making freedom soup for New Years Day, a soup that a long, long time ago was made only for free white people in Haiti. As Belle and Ti Gran are cooking, we learn about how Haiti’s enslaved people fought and won independence and how they came to make freedom soup for themselves. It’s a sweet story and the illustrations were fantastic; each picture was full of movement, bright colors, and so much love. I’ll be looking for more books illustrated by Alcantara in the future. The book reminded me how awesome kids books can be. They can teach, entertain, AND make the reader feel joyful in the process. It was a hear-warming experience that helped me start to New Year off right.
