by Susan Patron
First published 1991
Billie faces a dilemma when her grandmother insists she help prepare the annual burgoo stew for the town festival. The thick, hearty soup requires hours of stirring and careful attention to ingredients that range from vegetables to whatever meat the neighbors contribute. Billie would rather spend the day with her friends, but her grandmother explains that the recipe carries generations of family tradition. As Billie reluctantly takes her turn at the large pot, she discovers that the other women sharing cooking duties each have their own stories about the stew and what it means to their families. The simmering pot becomes a gathering place where Billie learns about her heritage and her place in the community. Through the day-long cooking process, she begins to understand why her grandmother values this tradition so deeply and how participating connects her to something larger than herself.
Genres: literary-fiction, family-life, contemporary, food-and-drink
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Town Festival
32 pages · Hardcover · Orchard Books