A review of A Plate of Hope
by
Erin
Frankel
World-renowned humanitarian and chef José Andrés's love of cooking started as a boy in Spain cooking paella for family over an open fire. As he grew older, attended cooking school, and traveled the world, he dreamed of the stories he could tell with food. While feeding sailors on a famous Spanish Navy ship, José wished that everyone everywhere had enough food to eat.
Working his way from Spain to New York City to Washington, D.C., José was moved by the words "we the people." These three words inspired him to volunteer at DC Central Kitchen, a non-profit community kitchen. It was there that he discovered the transformational power of food and sharing. He believed that everyone deserved a hot meal, not just a few, so he created the World Central Kitchen to help feed people who are hungry. The earthquake in Haiti, Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, the COVID pandemic, and war in Ukraine are just a few of the ways that Chef José and his team at World Central Kitchen have been able to help - serving more than 300 million meals worldwide.
The 15-minute sound recording of A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen is produced by Andy T. Jones for Dreamscape Audio, written by Erin Frankel, illustrated by Paola Escobar and narrated by Luis Carlos de La Lombana. In addition to the lyrical text, the sound recording brings the kitchen and Spain to life with sizzling sounds and lively flamenco guitar music. This title is available from the library as a picture book, a sound recording in English and Spanish, and as a Dreamscape Media videorecording.
A Plate of Hope is the winner of the 2025 Odyssey Award for children. The Odyssey Award is for the best audiobooks produced for children and young adults, available in English in the United States. Read more about all the 2025 ALA Youth Media Award Winners here.