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- Title: Alberto Salas plays Paka Paka con la Papa: Join the Search with Peru’s Famed Scientist and Potato Expert
- Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
- Release Date: March 18, 2025
- Author: Sara Andrea Fajardo
- Illustrator: Juana Martinez-Neal
- Age Level: 3-8, 40 pages
- ISBN: 978-1-2508-3861-2
This biographic picture book about Peruvian agronomist Alberto Salas and his hunt for wild potatoes before they go extinct is an ode to conservation and science, gorgeously illustrated by Caldecott-honoree Juana Martinez-Neal.
High up in the Andes mountains of Peru, agricultural scientist Alberto Salas is on a quest. A quest… for potatoes.
Up and down the Andes mountains he goes, playing an epic game of paka paka con la papa, potato hide and seek. These potatoes are special: they have the power to feed the world.
Alberto doesn’t have a second to waste. The climate is changing and Alberto must find each and every one to save them before they go extinct.
The game is on!
Alberto races and peers and prods. Drives and trods and climbs. Will he find the potato he seeks? Will he win the game of paka paka con la papa?
Author Sara Andrea Fajardo’s spirited biography about “the godfather of potatoes” is paired with lush, playful art by Caldecott-honoree Juana Martinez-Neal to capture how celebrated scientist Alberto Salas brings joy, curiosity, and fun to his very important, life-changing work.
★ NCTE Orbis Pictus Award Honor Book 2026
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★ Amazon – Editor’s Pick Ages 6-8 for March 2025
★ A Junior Library Guild Spanish Selection
★ 2025 Society of Illustrators Original Art Selection
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★Working in paper collage, Martinez-Neal favors dabs of rich colors among broad landscapes of earthy browns and lots of potatoes of different shapes and sizes to bring Salas’ potato exploits to life, including his collaboration with Indigenous communities. A robust glossary and backmatter delving further into Salas’ work and the diversity of potatoes round out a sublime portrait. —Starred review
★ In a warm palette, Caldecott Honoree Martinez-Neal’s lush mixed-media illustrations convey Salas’s dedication and the potatoes as jewels hiding in an ever-shifting landscape. Fajardo smartly melds playful language with an urgent conservationist message, underlining the importance of Salas’s “serious game”— “a childhood game, helping to feed the world.” —Starred review
★ Martinez-Neal’s distinctive style (…) The earth tones are enlivened by the depiction of Salas in yellow attire, a metaphorical beam of light spotlighting the humble papa. Perspective shifts capture peeks of the Peruvian landscape, while close ups allow for a peek at Salas’s handiwork using a pickaxe to loosen soil, or delicately pressing plant samples onto paper (…) this is a highly recommended title for all nonfiction collections. —Starred review
★ Caldecott Honoree Martinez-Neal’s soft, loosely rendered mixed-media illustrations (…) incorporate Andean culture and geography while creating a gritty, tactile experience as Alberto works through the soil. Earth tones allow the potatoes in varying hues to stand out like the treasures they are. (…) A lovely tribute to an unassuming yet impactful changemaker. —Starred review
★ Martinez-Neal (…) depicts Salas as a lovable, balding, ruddy-nosed character who has his head in the clouds in the very best way, while coated in a patina of potato dirt. (…) This tribute to a contemporary figure will no doubt strike a chord with young readers. —Starred review
Martinez-Neal’s soft-hued mixed-media illustrations are lively and textured. Salas is depicted wearing bright yellow, drawing attention to him on the pages, and the earth-toned splotchy background is reminiscent of potatoes.
