Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka con la Papa: Join the Quest with Peru’s Famed Scientist and Potato Expert

“Up and down the crooked spine of the Andes... playing an epic game of paka paka con la papa, potato hide-and-seek,” travels agronomist Alberto Salas (b. 1943), questing for “the potatoes of the Americas.” In the face of rising temperatures, sprawling land development, and more, scientists study the “superpowers” of potatoes to create new varieties that will thrive in a changing world, and perhaps even on Mars. But these changes also threaten the wild potatoes, and “Alberto’s goal is to find them all... before they’re lost for good.” When the plants flower, “ready or not, potatoes, here comes Alberto”—working off maps handmade and memorized, asking passersby for help, and noting his findings. In a warm palette, Caldecott Honoree Martinez-Neal’s lush mixed-media illustrations convey Salas’s dedication and the potatoes as jewels hiding in an ever-shifting landscape. Fajardo (Crack Goes the Cascarón) smartly melds playful language with an urgent conservationist message, underlining the importance of Salas’s “serious game”— “a childhood game, helping to feed the world.” Biographical information, creators’ notes, and a cultural dictionary conclude. Publishing in English and Spanish. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Nicole Geiger, Full Circle Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel, Full Circle Literary. (Mar.)