Community Soup - by Alma Fullerton

About the Book

"In a garden outside a Kenyan schoolhouse, children are working together to harvest the vegetables they have grown and make them into a soup for everyone to share. But Kioni is having trouble: her herd of mischievous goats followed her to school today and they are trying to eat all the vegetables"--Amazon.com.

Book Synopsis

In a garden outside a Kenyan schoolhouse, teachers and students are gathering their vegetables for soup. But all Kioni brought today were her troublesome goats. How can they contribute?

In a garden outside a Kenyan schoolhouse children are working together to harvest the vegetables they have grown and make them into a soup for everyone to share. But Kioni is having trouble: her herd of mischievous goats followed her to school today and they are trying to eat all the vegetables. The ensuing chaos caused by the goats is cleverly resolved by the children, making their vegetable soup very tasty while saving Kioni's four-legged intruders at the same time.

Using rollicking verse with echoes of "Mary had a Little Lamb," Alma Fullerton tells a lively story about communal projects and finding creative solutions that help everyone contribute. This lively story for young readers is graced with Alma's stunning primitive paper sculpture art - the first book she has chosen to illustrate herself.

Review Quotes

Praise for Community Soup

2013 CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens selection

2023 Children's Book Council "June Hot Off the Press" Feature

"The full-color, mixed-media collages steal the show...A great choice for group sharing or for units on communities."--School Library Journal

"The recipe for Fullerton's second picture book, after A Good Trade, involves a bit of 'Stone Soup, ' a dash of 'Mary Had a Little Lamb, ' and a rural Kenyan setting...there's much to enjoy in Fullerton's textured illustrations..."--Publishers Weekly

"For reading aloud or alone, a nourishing choice."--Kirkus Reviews

"The simple sentences have a conversational tone and the superb pacing makes for a lively read aloud...[The] paper-sculpture illustrations are a visual feast...Textures seem tactile, from the rough, peeling bark on twigs to the softly curling tufts of the goats' hair."--Quill & Quire

"The first line of this story draws readers into a day-in-the-life of Kenyan school community, which Fullerton depicts with mixed-media collage and paper-sculptures that lend a diorama-like depth to each scene."--International Reading Association Reading Today Online

"The simply told story uses sparse language, but it is the lively drawings that are so winning. Fullerton's incredible 3D collage illustrations in mixed media fairly leap off the page and cleverly complement the text."--CM Magazine

"Community Soup is a short fun tale that welcomes everyone...Alma Fullerton uses bright colors and texture in excitingly visual collages throughout the book. Each page comes alive and pops right off the page! Community Soup is wonderful for young readers looking to explore their culinary side with a little help from Kioni and her friends!"--New York Botanical Gardens, "Children's Books Explore the Power of Community"

"The three-dimensional, mixed media illustrations practically jump off the page, and had my girls trying to touch and feel them. After reading Community Soup, my daughters had fun making their own felt- vegetable soup combinations."--Kids Read the World

"Fullerton's paper collage illustrations are remarkable throughout."--Dr. Larry Recommends

About the Author

Alma Fullerton was first known for her award-winning free-verse
novels for juvenile and young-adult readers, including the Governor General's
Award-nominated Libertad. Since
then, her picture books about children around the world have also won national
and international awards, including a White Ravens Choice and a Bank Street
Best Book for A Good Trade, and a USBBY Outstanding International Book
for When the Rain Comes. Most recently, No More Plastic! was an
honor book for the Green Earth Book Award and a finalist for both the OLA
Forest of Reading Blue Spruce Award and the SYRCA Shining Willow Award. Alma
lives in Prince Edward Island with her husband, her service dog, Gibson, and
her own herd of mischievous goats.