Plátanos Are Love

A delicious picture book about the ways plantains shape Latinx culture, community, and family, told through a young girl’s experiences in the kitchen with her abuela.

Abuela says, “plátanos are love.”
I thought they were food.
But Abuela says they feed us in more ways than one.

With every pop of the tostones, mash of the mangú, and sizzle of the maduros, a little girl learns that plátanos are her history, they are her culture, and—most importantly—they are love.

Alyssa Reynoso-Morris is a queer Afro-Latinx Dominican and Puerto Rican writer, wife, mother, and community organizer. During the day she is a chief of staff working with community members, nonprofit organizations, and government officials to make the world a better place. Then she puts her writer’s hat on to craft heartfelt stories about home, family, food, and the fun places she has been. Alyssa was born and raised in the Bronx and currently lives in Philadelphia with her partner and daughter. Alyssa is honored to be a Musa with Las Musas Books which celebrates the diversity of voice, experience, and power of Latinx children’s authors. She hopes you enjoy her stories.

Mariyah Rahman was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago. She spent her earliest years climbing trees, digging for fossils, and drawing on walls with crayons. Today she is an illustrator for children’s books and entertainment but has still never found a fossil.