Tomatoes for Neela
Written by Palma Lakshmi; Illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal
We are excited to launch our second edition of One Book, One School! This summer, we invite our entire Leonard community to read and reread the book, Tomatoes for Neela, with your families. Each family was given a copy in June to keep (thank you, PTO!). Throughout the summer, we'll send short communications with ideas for engaging with the story.
It is our intention that this experience:
- Centers reading as an important family activity.
- Provides families with meaningful suggestions to make even more memories together.
- Gives every Leonard student a shared experience that we can use as a foundation for launching the 2022-2023 school year.
Here's our second activity!:
Activity #2: COOK AS A FAMILY
Now that your family knows the book, Tomatoes for Neela, let's cook together like Neela's family! Choose something that your whole family can help make. Maybe it's a family breakfast? Or a favorite family recipe that has been passed down? Or maybe there's a new meal you've always wanted to try? Whether the recipe is in a cookbook, online, or it isn't even written down yet, grab the family and work as a team to make it come to life! Make sure everyone has a role in the process. Even the littlest of helpers can wash veggies and stir sauces! After you've worked hard on your meal, enjoy it together! Who knows, maybe we'll discover some future chefs amongst our Leonard Leopards?
Repeat as many times as you would like!
Let's share our stories with our Leonard community! Click on the link below to add pictures, stories, or questions from your family's experience with our Summer Reading Adventure!
Optional Extensions
If your family is ready for more, check out some of these possibilities:
Share Food with Family & Friends
Sharing food with family and friends is an important activity in almost every culture. Help your family plan a get together with some of your favorite people. What will you make? Can you help to create the menu and decide the dishes you will serve? Maybe it will be a picnic, or a barbecue, or a special dinner - whatever works best for your family. You could even invite your guests to bring one of their favorite dishes to share.
Read More! - Find more books about family and/or food
Tomatoes for Neela is just one great book about families and food. There are many other titles with a similar theme. Go on a scavenger hunt in your house. What other books can you find that have connections to this text? Read them! If you're really up for a challenge, head to the library and find new books there that center family traditions/food as the theme. Make a list and share it with your new class this fall.
Translation
When Neela was learning about the history of the tomato, the author introduced us to several translations of the word. Do you know more than one language? Can you draw a picture of your kitchen (or anything that interests you)? Then, label the picture in as many languages as you can!