Pistes d'exploration

Do you think Mama Panya expected their friends to contribute to the meal? Why do you think they did so? Does your family follow any particular etiquette when invited to a friend’s or neighbour’s house for dinner? 

What was Mama Panya worried about initially? Why did they call the dinner a feast? Think of another expression Adika could have used to reassure his mother that it would all work out.

Create a Venn diagram comparing your way of life with Adika’s. What values do you share? Why is it important to learn about how children live in different parts of the world?

“There are people who have money and people who are rich.” Discuss this quote by Coco Gabriel Chanel and how it applies to Adika and his mother.

Find Kenya on a map. As a group, share what you know about this country.

Discuss what happens when you go to the market with your family. What do you buy? Who do you meet? Compare your trip to the market with Adika’s and Mama Panya’s using a Venn diagram.

How do you and your family invite people to come for a meal? On what occasions? Adika’s guests bring food when they come over; what are the traditions in your family when people come over or when you visit someone for a meal?

Use Reader’s Theatre and a few props to retell the story. Write an invitation card to another group to invite them over. Prepare some of Mama Panya’s pancakes to celebrate. 

The Party, Stone Soup

Mots-clés

Picture book , community , cooking , food , generosity , Kenya , sharing

Commentaire descriptif

In this heart-warming story about community and sharing, Mama Panya calls to her son Adika to hurry up and get ready to go to market. “Surprise! I’m one step ahead of you, Mama.” Throughout the tale, Adika is indeed a step ahead, inviting all the friends he runs into to join them for pancakes. His mother worries they won’t be able to feed them; they only have two coins to pay for the flour and chillies. But her son reassures her, “You’ll have a little bit and a little bit more. That’s enough.” Sure enough, it is. When half the village turns up on their doorstep, they bring plantains and fish, extra flour and spices. It turns into a feast with a sense of true community, as they play thumb piano and sing under the baobab tree. Warm, colourful watercolour depictions of village life in Kenya include patterned clothing, lush greenery, yellow fields, thatched huts, and the animated faces and postures of the villagers. Simple, informative back matter adds to an understanding of East African culture and village life: the names of the trees and animals from the illustrations, greetings in “Kiswahili” (the local language), facts about Kenya and a map of Africa. There’s even a recipe for Mama Panya’s spicy pancakes!