Shante Keys and the New Year's Peas by Gail Piernas-Davenport, Marion Eldridge (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

ShantŽ Keys loves New Year's Day! But while Grandma fixed chitlins, baked ham, greens, and cornbread, she forgot the black-eyed peas! Oh no-it'll be bad luck without them! So ShantŽ sets out to borrow some from the neighbors. Does Miss Lee have peas? What about Mr. MacGhee, or ShantŽ's good friend Hari? None of them do-but, as ShantŽ discovers, they have fun foods and traditions for their New Year's! Now, if only ShantŽ can find good-luck peas in time for dinner!

In this multicultural New Year's story, ShantŽ Keys learns about Chinese New Year and Diwali, as well as how January 1st is celebrated in other countries. The author includes additional pages of information about diverse New Year's traditions and special foods.

Children's Literature

Shanté Keys and her parents go to visit Grandma for a New Year’s feast, but Grandma has forgotten the black-eyed peas, a symbol of prosperity for the turn of the year. So Shanté is off to ask the neighbors if they have some. After a visit to Miss Lee (Chinese), Mr. MacGhee (Scottish), Seńor Ortiz (Mexican), Hari (Indian Hindu), and finally Auntie Marie (?), she scores a bagful of chickpeas. The family chops onions, adds a dime and a bay leaf, and welcomes all the neighbors to join in the celebration of New Year’s with a feast of black-eyed peas. Endnotes expand on the foods of the holidays with details of various New Year traditions from China, Scotland, Spanish culture, and India mentioned in the text. Additional information about Austria, Germany, Greece, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, and Jewish culture are briefly mentioned. A recipe for Hoppin’ John, traditionally served with the American South’s traditional New Year’s Black Eye Peas is a full-page endplate. Teachers who are food-inclined (bless their hearts!) will welcome this unique title to the library collection. It offers many cooking possibilities for kids to participate in, perhaps a multicultural food festival celebrating New Year’s when school reconvenes (since we never go to school on New Years, right?). In her journey amongst the neighborhood’s diverse foodies, Shanté hears about Miss Lee’s “crisp golden dumplings,” Mr. MacGhee’s “haggis and cheese,” Seńor Ortiz’s “grapes,” Hari’s “sweets,” all of which could be included in a food sampling that followed reading the book (although the haggis will probably not be much of a hit when the kids find out what it really IS!). Reviewer: Gwynne Spencer

Teresa PfeiferCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information. - School Library Journal

K-Gr 2
It's New Year's Day, and Shanté's Grandma is "weak in the knees" from cooking "chitlins, baked ham,/macaroni and cheese,/Greens and hot corn bread,/but no black-eyed peas!" If the family doesn't eat "cowpeas," it means a year of bad luck, so Shanté goes out into the neighborhood in search of "blackeyes." She visits a Chinese woman, a Scottish grocer, a Mexican restaurant owner, and a Hindu family. In turn, each neighbor explains his or her culture's differing New Year's practices with an oversimplification that leans toward ethnic stereotypes. The book tries to do too much, taking the focus off Shanté and her family. The illustrations, done in candylike colors, are unappealing. On the plus side, the lighthearted rhyme presents various cultural food customs associated with the holiday. A look at New Year's traditions around the world and a recipe for Hoppin' John are appended.

Kirkus Reviews

Shante's family has a New Year's tradition. The family has a feast that includes one special item: black-eyed peas. They believe eating the peas will bring them luck throughout the new year. Grandma discovers she has forgotten this crucial dish and sends Shante out to find some. As Shante travels from neighbor to neighbor, she learns the New Year's food traditions of those families, and even though they don't have the peas she needs, she invites them to dinner to try the ones she's sure she'll find. Written in rhyming couplets, the verse often falters annoyingly, making it difficult to read aloud without practice, but readers will find any number of new rhymes for the word "peas." (Chef Ortiz is from Belize, for instance.) Bright, colorful illustrations portray Shante's energy and determination to save her family tradition, but, of course, these seem to be miracle peas that don't need soaking overnight. Like Norah Dooley's Everybody Cooks Rice (1991), this is a simple way to introduce young children to other cultures and traditions. The recipe for Grandma Louise's Hoppin' John provides a fun activity for families. (afterword) (Picture book. 5-9)

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