Celebrate the power of food to create delicious, lasting memories with this poetic and playful exploration of the joy of waiting for, and finally sharing, fried plantains.

Mama steers the cart toward the produce section of the grocery store and picks up a bunch of green plantains. Thus begins a week of anxious anticipation as a young girl waits for mustard yellows to seep onto the unripe green peels. By Thursday, black marks begin to splotch and streak across the plantains. And finally, on Sunday, the frying pan sizzles and hisses, as Mama serves up the warm, sugary slices the young girl has waited for so long.

Much like there is sweet treasure hidden beneath the skin of a plantain, this beautifully written and evocativestory reaches far beyond the act of preparing a favorite food.Ripening Timecelebrates the way food andfamilyentwine to connect us across generationsand serves as a touching reminder that some of the sweetest rewards in life are worth the wait.

Patrice Gopois the child of Jamaican immigrants and was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. She is an award-winning essayist and author whose work ponders how places shape the people we become. From a young age, Patrice desired to visit Jamaica and other meaningful places she had only traced on a globe. She lives with her family in North Carolinaanother place she considers home. Patrices first picture book, All the Places We Call Home, published with WorthyKids in 2022.

Carlos Vlez Aguilera is a professional illustrator and graduate of the National School of Plastic Arts at the National University Autonomous of Mexico. He has illustrated for books, magazines, and animation projects, including his own authored book, Saln Destino. He works in pencil and ink to create sketches and character studies, then colors his work digitally.

• Publisher: WorthyKids (April 15, 2025)
• Language: English
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• ISBN-10: 1546005390
• ISBN-13: 9781546005391
• Item Weight: 0.8 lbs
• Dimensions: 9.3 in H x 9.5 in W x 0.8 lb Wt