Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka con la Papa: Join the Quest with Peru’s Famed Scientist and Potato Expert
by Sara Andrea Fajardo; illus. by Juana Martinez-Neal
Primary    Roaring Brook    40 pp.
3/25    9781250838612    $19.99
e-book ed.  9781250422866    $11.99
Spanish ed.  9781250905932    $19.99

In the Andes Mountains of Peru, Alberto Salas (b. 1943) hunts for papas (potatoes), “playing an epic game of paka paka con la papa, potato hide-and-seek.” His mission is to collect wild potato specimens and deliver them to the International Potato Center gene bank—a living library of potatoes, where his finds are used by scientists to grow new varieties that help fight hunger. Fajardo’s playful narrative brings readers along on Salas’s quest, touching lightly but directly on serious issues that affect his work, such as climate change and human encroachment on natural habitats. The text is enriched with Quechua and Spanish words (a “cultural dictionary” is appended). 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, while the earth-toned splotchy background is reminiscent of potatoes. Back matter includes additional information about Salas and potatoes along with author and illustrator notes. Concurrently published in Spanish as Alberto Salas juega a la paka paka con la papa.

From the July/August 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.