ALBERTO SALAS PLAYS PAKA PAKA CON LA PAPA

A potato hunter’s game of hide-and-seek nourishes the world in this quirky biographic tribute.

Alberto Salas is on a mission: to discover and document all the potatoes he can “before they’re lost for good.” The renowned Peruvian agronomist—affectionately portrayed as a rosy-cheeked, wiry-haired, squat man clad in a yellow coat—plays the game of potato paka paka (or hide-and-seek), scouring the Andes to support the development and proliferation of potatoes across the world. Each day the growing effects of climate change make his endeavor more urgent. Blending an affable, often playful tone and a loose yet incredibly informative narrative peppered with words in Spanish and Quechua, Fajardo recounts the potato expert’s adventures in all their glory, putting the story into a broader context that makes clear the global issue of widespread hunger. The author homes in on Salas’ precise methods and unorthodox solutions, including homemade maps and newspaper pouches to transport plants. 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. Publishes simultaneously in Spanish.

A remarkable path to starch-dom.