Try It!: How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat

Faced with a sea of predictable produce at L.A.'s Seventh Street market--"apples and bananas and potatoes and tomatoes"--Frieda Caplan wanted to try selling mushrooms. "Nobody eats those," the existing salespeople--all men--said, but Caplan trusted her intuition, starting her own produce company in 1962 and getting "a funny feeling in her elbows when she tasted something new and special, something she was sure people would like to try." Caplan made a significant mark, becoming a successful business owner in a field that did not welcome women. The mushrooms sold ("People started calling her the Mushroom Queen"), and so did the black radishes, blood oranges, jicama, kiwifruit, sugar snap peas, and more that Caplan championed as she led a quiet revolution in U.S. eating habits. In this picture book biography of an early food innovator, Rockliff (Jefferson Measures a Moose) takes note of the ways Caplan distinguished her offerings: clear labeling, customer education, and more. Potter (Olive & Pekoe: In Four Short Walks) brings out the vivid colors of tropical fruits, and her market scenes give the spreads a sense of abundance. There's period detail, too, as produce is introduced through the decades, enjoyed by people sporting fedoras and, eventually, bell-bottoms. Ages 3-8. Agent (for Rockliff and Potter): Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary. (Jan.)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

PreS-Gr 3--This picture book biography profiles produce pioneer Frieda Caplan (1923-2020). Caplan, the daughter of Russian immigrants, was the first woman in the United States to own and operate a wholesale produce business. The narrative begins at the Seventh Street produce market in Los Angeles in the 1960s, where Caplan noticed the monotony in what restaurants, stores, and stands sold to consumers. Despite the skepticism of her colleagues, she introduced fresh mushrooms, earning her the moniker "the Mushroom Queen." Her gradual success with mushrooms led her to open her own market stall, where she sold other foods considered unpopular and exotic, like kiwis. Caplan didn't love everything she tried, but when she chose to back something she gave it her all. As her reputation grew, she began to advise farmers and restaurant chefs. She gave interviews to journalists forecasting produce trends and eventually hired her own daughters to help with the family business. Potter's illustrations are thoughtfully painted and showcase the subtle changes in clothing throughout the decades. However, they don't necessarily have the shelf appeal that will motivate a child to choose this book for an independent read. On most spreads, the date that Caplan introduced a new fruit or veggie to the market is listed underneath the drawing with the product name. The text simply relays the basic facts of Caplan's life without connecting the dots. The background information featured at the end of the narrative would have made for welcome additions to enliven the story. VERDICT A straightforward picture book biography that missed the opportunity to elevate the narrative. Not recommended.--Lauren Younger, Univ. of Dallas Lib.

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Baby corn? Seedless watermelons? Purple potatoes? Who'd eat that?

Frieda Caplan was the plucky produce promoter who mainstreamed much of the world's delicacies and innovative hybrids into the American kitchen. Starting her own eponymous company—Frieda's—in 1962, she ensured that her reputation was made in what was then an all-male wholesale produce business. Almost nothing was too far-out for Frieda; after all, spaghetti squash was just one more recipe card in search of a convert. However, even Frieda was stumped with the Chinese gooseberry—but sales took off after she renamed it a kiwi. Anyone who bites into a crunchy jicama or a fiery habanero purchased from a supermarket can thank the adventurous taste buds of this pioneering greengrocer. Rockliff's snappy sentences and rollicking alliteration make this a fun read-aloud: "Farmers dug for tips on what to grow. Cooks peppered her with questions"; "mounds of mongosteen, heaps of jicama, and quantities of quince." Potter's signature flat palette gives way to bright purples, brilliant reds, and crisp greens. The retro illustrations follow Frieda from her entry into a marketplace filled with "boxes of bananas. Piles of potatoes. Truckloads of tomatoes" to a consumer wonderland filled with boxes of donut peaches and cherimoyas....A delectable delight daring readers to embrace the 80,000 species of Earth's edible plants.—Kirkus Reviews *STARRED REVIEW "11/1/20"