Neela and Amma love to cook. Both Neela and her mother copy recipes into their notebooks. Saturday is green market day. The abundance of tomatoes in their tomato sauce reminds Neela of her paati who lives distantly away in India. Neela loves cooking with her amma listening to the clinking of the bangles on her mother’s wrists. There are even Paati’s Tomato Sauce and Neela’s Tomato Chutney recipes to cook and savor. 3.5 stars.

Mother and daughter make tomato sauce together while also making new memories. The memories also connect both to grandma; soon they will share the sauce with her when she comes to visit. A very sweet book about how recipes passed down through the generations bind families closer. Plus a great recipe for tomato sauce and tomato cutney at the end of the book!

I would have loved it based on Juana alone, but it's just so lovely overall, from the sweet, gentle story to the delicious food writing to the politics it weaves in seamlessly. Excuse me while I preorder a copy for everyone I know.

For anyone who loves tomatoes, cooking, and family cookbooks with passed-down recipes. Delish!

This is another great book that shows culture through cooking and I always really enjoy these because many children have memories of cooking with families and it can bring people closer together. I really enjoyed this one because it also discusses going to markets and getting food from the farmers around you. Many children can even have a learning experience from going through these books because they might not know more than just going to the grocery store, or some unfortunately might not even

Warm, lovely, comforting -- just like the food and family it celebrates. I love the gentle way it shows how food can deeply connect us to family and cultural traditions. I don't have experience with any of Padma Lakshmi's other endeavors, but I was impressed with the storytelling in this picture book. I'm a big fan of Juana Martinez-Neal's illustrations and they are wonderful here. Highly recommended to young chefs or anyone looking for books celebrating family and traditions. Includes two recip...

I think this is my favorite picture book of 2021! 🤩 I adored the sweet, multigenerational story and the illustrations are stunning! *Bonus - there are interesting facts all about tomatoes!

Beautiful, ethereal illustrations (acrylic paints and colored pencils on hand-textured papers) lovingly capture a young girl learning to cook and her relationship with her amma (mother) and her paati (grandmother) who lives far away in India. Through cooking, the mother and daughter embrace their family's heritage. Neela loves cooking with her mother and writing down each recipe in her notebook. A cloth-covered book Neela is sure, "...belonged to a wizard," sits on a shelf in the kitchen. It is

Really loved this one! It’s a simple story about cooking and canning tomatoes to store for winter when tomatoes are no longer seasonal. But the book is much more than that, capturing the intense closeness of cooking and eating together, the way that a sense of family and culture are transmitted through food, and the connection we feel to the earth when we cook with vegetables. Predictably, Padma Lackshmi can really write about food! Juana Martínez-Neal illustrations are bursting with warmth and

I adored this book for several reasons:1. The art is gorgeous!2. The story, although short and sweet, is engaging and educational.3. I love Padma and that she's not afraid to eat and show the world that she loves food!4. The book is about family, culture, and delicious food!5. I love TOMATOES!

I picked up a signed book of this gorgeously illustrated picture book on Black Friday at B&N (being a total Padma fan girl!) The story is beautiful, touching on themes of family and tradition, shared stories, seasonal, local food and respect for the farmers hard work. A wonderful message, and a perfect accompaniment to Padma’s fantastic Hulu series, ‘Taste the Nation’. What I found most touching was the memories of cooking with my mother, my mother-in-law and step-mother-in-law over the years. I...

2022 Book Riot Read Harder challenge task # 4: Read a book in any genre by a POC that’s about joy and not trauma.Tomatoes for Neela is truly a celebration of food and family. Paired with Juana Martinez-Neal's illustrations, which adds warmth and softness to the story, Lakshmi's storytelling shows how food can bring different generations together as well as provide opportunities for children to learn about different cultural traditions. I also love how the book encourages getting children into th...

Neela is a little girl who loves cooking in the kitchen with her amma. Cooking family recipes helps her feel close to her paati who lives far away in India. Together, Neela and her amma make flan, rice pilaf, chimichurri, spicy lentil stew, saffron rice, and all sorts of other delicious family recipes. But best of all... they make Paati's famous tomato sauce! In this heartfelt book, family and culture are celebrated through a story that reminds us of all the sweet things that tie us together eve...

Awe this is a gorgeous book about a girl cooking with her mom and a love letter to garden fresh tomatoes that makes me drool. This book is gorgeously illustrated and an ode to the beauty of a fresh ingredient. Most pages either feature tomatoes or beautiful red flowers in the backdrop. There are two recipes in the back, some tomato facts, and a note about farmworkers and some resources to learn about the fight for farm workers civil rights which I thought was a wonderful touch.Notes: Cooking, In...

I tend to have no patience for celebrity authors (there are a few exceptions). I was surprised to see who the author of this was AFTER I read it. (Don't judge. It's been a long two years, and I'm a lot less observant these days!) I really enjoyed this story, love a book that includes recipes, and will definitely share it with coworkers! Very excited to find an exception to my rule! :)

Very sweet!

Love, love, love!! Not only is this book illustrated by one of my favorite picture book artists, but it's such a beautiful homage to food and family. Also, the color scheme in this is just perfect - I just keep flipping back and forth absorbing all of the beautiful rose and teal hues. And I cannot wait to make the two recipes that are included! Definitely a must buy for me

Wow, a lovely book about traditions that are packed with so much history and meaning! I learned a thing or two about tomatoes and culture, and enjoyed the time spent with this sweet family in lush, rich illustrations! I'm very tempted to try all the recipes at the back, too

Neela spends time with her mother in their kitchen preparing and cooking many different foods, but Neela's favorite time is when Summer ends, and their time is spent preparing all the harvested tomatoes for Fall and Winter storage and use. This story shares some history about the use and cultivation of tomatoes, provides recipes for two dishes, and displays how family togetherness can be shared and made memorable.