14 February 2021 TRY IT! HOW FRIEDA CAPLAN CHANGED THE WAY WE EAT by Mara Rockliff and Giselle Potter, Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane, January 2021, 32p., ISBN: 978-1-5344-6007-2
“Call any vegetable
Call it by name
Call one today
When you get off the train
Call any vegetable
And the chances are good
That the vegetable will respond to you”
-- Frank Zappa (1967)
TRY IT! is the story of innovative business woman Frieda Caplan who went to work as a bookkeeper at a produce company in LA in 1956. Six years later, she had her own produce business at the big Los Angeles wholesale market. She constantly encouraged her customers to try all sorts of produce not regularly seen in the market. As a result, she’s responsible for popularizing scores of products that were previously unknown to most Americans.
Products she made popular include mushrooms, kiwifruit, Jicama, sugar snap peas, Asian pears, seedless watermelons, Habanero peppers, spaghetti squash, and so many others.
I love the vibrant illustrations by Giselle Potter. Her watercolor illustrations have a recognizable, distinct style.
When schools return to normal, this book begs to be read in the classroom, accompanied by a tasting of some of the illustrated fruits and vegetables.
Try it!
Richie Partington, MLIS
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