ICY FRUIT

The author grows to appreciate the ingenuity of her Taiwanese grandfather.

When Cheng was a child, her Agong carried a bag of coins in his pocket; that simple bag tells a story of “joyful jingles, sultry summers, and fresh frozen fruit.” It all began in 1965, when Agong was a young man making a living selling pork. As the demand for pork dwindled, he wondered what else he could stock in his empty freezer. Noticing the scorching summer heat, he had an idea and started traveling the country, speaking with farmers harvesting guava, pineapple, star fruit, and more. Slicing the fruits and blending them together with bits of sugar, Agong experimented with ways to package the frozen delights, finally landing on colorful pouches that “gleamed like jewels in red, white and yellow as they quickly turned to scrumptious fruit pops.” The innovation didn’t stop there. Agong realized that outdoor food vendors often had difficulty being heard over the cacophony of honking vehicles, so he held a competition, inviting composers to devise a creative jingle to “cut through the rumbling noise of Taipei.” As Cheng brings her tale to a close, she notes that her grandfather’s legacy lives on as three generations of family sing the tune at his funeral. Her gently affectionate narrative flows naturally, marked by alliterative, elegant language. Mineker’s warmly textured illustrations rely on soft lines and bold colors.

A delectably loving tribute to a pioneering entrepreneur.