TV host and model Padma Lakshmi penned her deeply personal memoir 'Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir' in 2016. And now, she is all set to release her first children's book titled 'Tomatoes for Neela'.
Sharing the news about her upcoming children's book, Padma posted on Instagram, "I wrote this because I wanted to give families a jumping off point to discuss when, how and where fruits and vegetables grow. I wanted to encourage families to cook together, to understand that everyone in the family from various generations has something to contribute to that child’s food education and the practice of writing down a family’s beloved recipes can be both fun and useful in building a personal library of foods we all cherish." She further asked, "What’s one of your family recipes you’ve passed down?"
Written by Padma, 'Tomatoes for Neela' is illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal and it is aimed at kids aged four to eight years. Published by Penguin Random House, the story follows Neela who loves to cook with her amma and jot down their family's recipes in a notebook. Neela enjoys cooking because it makes her feel closer to her grandma who lives away from them in India.
“Some of my fondest memories from childhood are of cooking with the women in my family. It is the foundation for all I have spent my life working on,” Padma writes on the cover of the new children's book.
Sharing a glimpse of the book, Padma also had a video recently. Have a look:
'Tomatoes for Neela' by Padma Laxmi is expected to be out on August 31, 2021. Her previous books include 'The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs' (a cookbook), and 'Love, Loss, and What We Ate' (a memoir).
