Fry Bread

Fry bread is food.It is warm and delicious, piled high on a plate.Fry bread is time.It brings families together for meals and new memories.Fry bread is nation.It might look or taste different, but it is still shared by many, from coast to coast and beyond.Fry bread is us.It is a celebration of old and new, traditional and modern, similarity and difference.Fry Bread is a story told in lively and powerful verse by Seminole Nation member Kevin Noble Maillard, with vibrant art from Pura Belpre Award winner Juana Martinez-Neal.

Winner of Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award (Children's Book) 2020 Commended for American Indian Youth Literature Award (Picture Book) 2020

“"With buoyant, heartfelt illustrations that show the diversity in Native America, the book tells the story of a post-colonial food, a shared tradition across the North American continent . . . Through this topic that includes the diversity of so many Native peoples in a single story, Maillard (Mekusukey Seminole) promotes unity and familiarity among nations. Fry bread is much more than food, as this book amply demonstrates." -- Kirkus Reviews , starred review "Fry Bread celebrates the thing itself and much, much more . . . Maillard and Martinez-Neal bring depth, detail, and whimsy to this Native American food story, with text and illustrations depicting the diversity of indigenous peoples, the role of continuity between generations, and the adaptation over time of people, place, and tradition." -- Booklist , starred review "A powerful meditation" -- Publishers Weekly , starred review "This warm and charming book shows and affirms Native lives. The informational text and expressive drawings give it broad appeal." -- School Library Journal , starred review "An affecting picture book that features family and friends gathering, creating and enjoying fry bread together. Glorious . . . [Back matter] augments the simple, sincere verses with illuminating edification for older readers . . . Remarkable in balancing the shared delights of extended family with onerous ancestral legacy, Maillard both celebrates and bears witness to his no-single-recipe-fits-all community." -- Shelf Awareness”

"Through the story and the book's beautiful pictures, Kevin Noble Maillard and Juana Martinez-Neal capture the complexity of native identity." --Graham Lee Brewer, NPR

"A wonderful and sweet book [that] takes a staple food of many tribes across the country and uses it to think about family, history, memory and community. . . Lovely stuff." --The New York Times Book Review

"With buoyant, heartfelt illustrations that show the diversity in Native America, the book tells the story of a post-colonial food, a shared tradition across the North American continent . . . Through this topic that includes the diversity of so many Native peoples in a single story, Maillard (Mekusukey Seminole) promotes unity and familiarity among nations. Fry bread is much more than food, as this book amply demonstrates." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Fry Bread celebrates the thing itself and much, much more . . . Maillard and Martinez-Neal bring depth, detail, and whimsy to this Native American food story, with text and illustrations depicting the diversity of indigenous peoples, the role of continuity between generations, and the adaptation over time of people, place, and tradition." --Booklist, starred review

"A powerful meditation" --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This warm and charming book shows and affirms Native lives. The informational text and expressive drawings give it broad appeal." --School Library Journal, starred review

"Rich with smells and sounds, Fry Bread radiates with Native American pride, the sharing of traditions and the love of family." --Book Page, starred review

"An affecting picture book that features family and friends gathering, creating and enjoying fry bread together. Glorious . . . [Back matter] augments the simple, sincere verses with illuminating edification for older readers . . . Remarkable in balancing the shared delights of extended family with onerous ancestral legacy, Maillard both celebrates and bears witness to his no-single-recipe-fits-all community." --Shelf Awareness, starred review

Kevin Noble Maillard is a professor and journalist who lives with his family in Manhattan. He is a regular writer for the New York Times. When he was thirteen years old, he won a fishing derby for catching seventy-two fish in two hours. Originally from Oklahoma, he is a member of the Seminole Nation, Mekusukey band. kevinmaillard.comJuana Martinez-Neal is an illustrator of books for children, including the Pura Belpré Award winner La Princesa and the Pea and her authorial debut, Alma and How She Got Her Name. Juana grew up in Lima, Peru. She now lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, surrounded by her amazing children. juanamartinezneal.com

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