The True Story of Vanilla by Ann Richards

Edmond was born in August, 1829 on the Bellier-Beaumont sugar plantation on Reunion, a small island in the Indian Ocean. His mother, Melise and his father Pamphile were both slaves owned by Elvire Bellier-Beaumont. In 1834, when Edmond was around five years old he was sent to live with Elvire's brother, Ferreol Bellier-Beaumont who was a widower without any children. 

Ferreol's plantation was typical of most plantations with a large main house and small huts for the slaves. The houses of the slaves had no beds so they slept on the dirt floor. On the plantation the slaves planted sugarcane, and then cut and bundled the canes during harvesting. The work was hard in the hot sun and many slaves, wishing to be free and return to their home countries where they were taken from, escaped, rowing across the sea to Madagascar, Africa or Comoros. But for Edmond, life was different: he lived in the main house with Ferreol.

Ferreol Bellier-Beaumont was known on Reunion as a botanist who enjoyed studying rare plants. As  Ferrreol walked about the plantation and his garden, Edmond watched him and learned from Ferreol about the various plants. Edmond was an intelligent child and became very interested in botany like his master, Ferreol. 

Ferreol was interested in starting a new industry on Reunion - the producing of vanilla. Competition from Cuba and Europe meant that it was no longer profitable to grow sugarcane on Reunion. Ferreol did produce a small amount of cane for local needs but he also grew other produce including pumpkins, bananas and pineapples. 

At this time, vanilla was grown only in Mexico, making it a rare and expensive spice. Botanists from France and Belgium had discovered that the Melipona bee pollinated the vanilla flower. However, they too were not able to get their vanilla plants to produce the vanilla pods. Ferreol had explained to Edmond how he pollinated his pumpkin plants by hand. Since the flowers open early, this had to be done before 10 AM in the morning. He would find the male and female flowers and touch the female stigma to the male anther in what was known as "the marriage". In a few days, small buds would appear beneath the female flowers. Edmond repeated this process himself in Ferreol's pumpkin field to see if he could replicate Ferreol's work. He was successful. 

However, Ferreol like other botanists were frustrated by their lack of success in being able to able to pollinate the vanilla plant. His experiment using wasps from the fig tree didn't work either. So Edmond set out to help his master by intensively studying the different species of plants in Ferreol's garden. For each type of plant in Ferreol's garden, Edmond looked at the blossoms of each, located the male and female part of each flower and pollinated them by pressing these two parts together. When this was successful, Edmond knew that he understood how to find the male and female parts and how to hand pollinate them. The result was that Ferreol's garden produced pumpkins, squash, peppers and other produce. Edmond just had to look inside the vanilla orchid flower to find those parts. Carefully examining the orchid using a bamboo twig, Edmond located the sticky anther and "With the tip of the bamboo twig, he guided the anther to the female part of the plant, called th estigma, and pressed the two parts together. He had successfully hand pollinated the vanilla orchid! Edmond was twelve-years-old.

When Edmond saw that the plant had begun to bud the next day, he repeated the process on the remaining vanilla flower. A few days later when Ferreol was walking through the garden with Edmond and he saw the green vanilla pods forming underneath the wilted flowers he was stunned. Edmond explained what he had done. As new flowers opened, Edmond showed Ferreol the process for hand pollinating the vanilla orchid flowers.

Soon Ferreol's friends and the villagers and plantation owners came to see the vanilla buds but they were in disbelief that a slave could do this.Ferreol wrote letters documenting what Edmond had done because he wanted him to receive the recognition for his disocvery. These letters were sent to the French Chambers of Agriculture, scientific journals and even to Reunion's newspaper. He named what Edmond had done, "Edmond's gesture" or le gest d'Edmond. Edmond demonstrated his technique to the various plantation owners. Despite Ferreol's efforts to get Edmond the recognition he deserved it would take many years and much effort.

Discussion

The True Story of Vanilla is a fascinating account of how one young boy, a slave on a plantation on a small island in the Indian Ocean made an important discovery that had an impact both on his own country and the world. That person was Edmond Albius.

Richards presents Edmond's story while offering readers  background information on many topics relevant to his discovery. The history of Reunion, the pollination of flowers, the discovery of xocolatl, an early form of chocolate by the Aztecs and of tlilxochitl by Montezuma when he conquered the Aztecs, the history of slavery in Reunion and elsewhere, and vanilla production in Mexico. There is a short discussion about growing a vanilla plant but no information on where to buy one! 

Richards has included a section, "In The Pod" within each chapter, that offers readers interesting facts about the vanilla plant. For example, "Each vanilla bean is different, with a unique flavor, aroma and color," is one of many facts presented in these sections which can be found through the book. In The Pod provides information about the vanilla flower, pod and bean, the vanilla scent, vanilla's use in food, health benefits of vanilla, its use in cosmetics and how vanilla is produced today. 

Edmond eventually gained his freedom as a result of the abolishing of slavery in the French colonies in 1848. He was now allowed to have a last name and he chose Albius, "...from the Latin albus/albin, meaning 'white' -- like the vanilla flower." After leaving the Bellier-Beaumont plantation, Edmond wanted to find work as a ship's cook but this was not to happen. Instead he worked as a laborer and eventually was convicted of theft and sentenced to five years  of hard labor. He was freed after three years, due to the persistent efforts of Ferreol who continued also to advocate for Edmond to receive recognition for his pollination of the vanilla plant. This too was proving to be difficult because another botanist, a colleague of Ferreol's, Michel Claude Richard claimed to have discovered the method of how to hand=pollinate the vanilla orchid. Eventually Edmond was recognized as the discoverer of how to hand pollinate the vanilla orchid.

The True Story of Vanilla is filled with so many interesting facts about this spice which is used now throughout the world in so many products and foods. But it is also a story about slavery and the prejudice that existed at this time. Edmond Albius was only twelve-years-old when he made his astonishing discovery. He was intelligent and resourceful, a quick learner who applied the techniques that Ferreol taught him. But because he was a black slave boy, he was not considered intelligent enough to have discovered this process, by the white plantation owners. And it would take twenty years before he finally received the recognition he deserved for his hand-pollination technique - one that is still used today.

The art for the book is digitally created and colourful and while the cover is quite attractive, the artwork inside is somewhat uninspiring. Although there is map of Reunion, there is no map showing Reunion's location relative to Africa and Madagascar which would allow young readers to place the island's location on a globe. And although there is a surviving daguerreotype of young Edmond Albius, it was not included in this biography about him!

Ann Richards who is a Jamaican Canadian from Brampton, Ontario, has included a Timeline, a Glossary and a list of Resources as well as an Index. 

The True Story of Vanilla is highly recommended for readers and cooks of all ages!

Book Details:

The True Story of Vanilla by Ann Richards

Toronto: Orca Book Publishers      2025

99pp.

Get Happy by Mary Amato

Get Happy is about a young girl who receives a surprise birthday gift from the father who abandoned her years ago, leading her to learn more about him and discovering the painful truth about her past.

Minerva (Minny) Watson lives with her mother, Pat in Evanston, Illinois. On her sixteenth birthday Minny's mother gives her a sweater but what Minny really wants is a ukelele. She also receives an unexpected gift from her father whom she hasn't seen since she was two years old. 

The package addressed to her and her mother is from a K.C. at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Her father's name is Kenneth Chip so Minny assumes this package is from him, but she's puzzled about the address. Minny doesn't tell her mom about the package, instead opens it to find a note to each of them and a beautiful seahorse necklace. The note to her mother asks that she let Minerva finally meet her dad, while the one addressed to her asks to meet her and tells her that he is always thinking about her. Minny knows very little about her dad; her parents met when he had a temporary job in Chicago, he has "Pacific island" genes and he left Minny and her mother never paying child support.

Minny and her best friend, Finnegan O'Connor, are on their way to audition for jobs as children's party entertainers for the store, Get Happy. On their way they meet Hayes Martinelli, who is also applying. They audition with another person, tall, gorgeous Cassie Lott who is there because Fin encouraged her to audition.

After the auditions, Minny sneaks downstairs one night to search on the computer and discovers a Keanu Choy on the Shedd Aquarium website. She learns that Dr. Choy is from Hawaii and specializes in the study of seahorses. Keanu Choy worked as an intern for the Shedd Aquarium seventeen years ago before moving away. His initials, the seahorses and his facial features lead Minny to believe that Keanu Choy is likely her father. This information leaves Minny puzzled; has her father changed his name to avoid paying child support or has her mother lied to her to keep her from finding him? Minny feels deeply conflicted because the kind letter her father sent her does not match with the person her mother has described to her as horrible and selfish. Fin encourages Minny to confront her mother but she's unable to do so. Instead she first tries to snoop through her mother's closet to find photo albums from when she was very young. When that doesn't work, Minny decides to forget about it and delve into her new job at Get Happy.

At Get Happy, the four are given their costumes that they will wear to birthday parties; Minny dresses as a Mermaid, Fin as a pirate, Hayes as a cowboy and Cassie as a princess. Their first parties are not raving successes except for Cassie whom the children adore. Jealous, Minny begins stalking Cassie online after she remembers that she writes a diving blog. It turns out that Cassie is an avid scuba diver who posts pictures of diving off Costa Rica or Cozumel. At this point most readers will clue into who Cassie is, especially after Minny discovers that Keanu Choy is leaving comments on Cassie's blog. This all leads Minny to start leaving nasty comments on Cassie's blog.

In biology, Ms. Feinstein tells Minny's class about the free lecture series offered by the Shedd Aquarium and the special lecture to be given by Keanu Choy on April 15.  Minny knows she needs to find out if Keanu is her father but she cannot bring herself to ask her mother so when her mother calls her sister, Minny's Aunt Joan, Minny decides to ask her about her father. The talk with Aunt Joan reveals some shocking information; that her father is Keanu and that he was from Hawaii but left for California when a job offer came through. She also learns that her father now has a new wife and stepdaughter, and that he failed to meet Minny and her mother when they went to Disneyland when she was three years old.  This information convinces Minny that she needs to quit Get Happy because Cassie reminds her of her father and move on with her life.

However two things push Minny to do a rash thing that forces her mother to face up to what she's done to Minny. First her mother gives away the seahorse necklace that her father sent her for her birthday and secondly Minny inadvertently learns who Cassie really is. This pushes Minny into confronting her father in an embarrassing and very public manner, one that changes her life forever.

Discussion

Author Mary Amato tackles the subject of divorce and absent fathers in Get Happy very effectively and realistically. The National Fatherhood Initiative estimates that one in three children in the United States do not live with their fathers, leading them to be at risk for poverty, crime, obesity, teen pregnancy, incarceration and abuse. Although many fathers simply "check out" of their child(ren)'s life, many other fathers are prevented by mothers from having access to their children. This is what happened to Miranda in Get Happy. Miranda's mother not only set things up so that it was very difficult for Miranda's father to remain in contact but she also lies in order to prevent Minny from being able to find him and she hides every gift he sent. She deliberately thwarts any possible relationship and actively works to distort her daughter's view of the father she can only vaguely remember.

Especially well portrayed in Get Happy is the conflict between Minny's parents. The confrontation between Pat and Keanu as they argue through the door of Minny's house defines their conflict for readers who experience the intensity of their anger for each other through great use of dialogue. Minerva's mother, who claims to have Minny's best interests at heart, is shown to be selfish and uncompromising, while her father appears to have given up his right to see his daughter a little too easily. 

It's obvious that Miranda has suffered greatly from the absence of her father and this too is well portrayed. At one point she states,  "I'd gone through a phase, when I was eight, when I ripped a page out of an L.L. Bean catalogue, picturing a fatherly looking, black-haired guy sitting by a fireplace, and tried to convince myself it was him. I'd kept it under my pillow until, one day, I came home to find clean sheets and no trace of Mr. Bean."  

When she goes to work at a birthday party for a little girl, Minny becomes emotionally distraught when she sees the father making a birthday cake for his daughter and the silly decorations he's made for the party. It was silly and cute, and I started to laugh and then some tiny dam inside of me broke, and a sudden wave of tears threatened to engulf me."

Even after the confrontation with Minny's father, Pat refuses to acknowledge the harm she has done to her daughter. She is in complete denial when confronted by Aunt Joan who tells Pat, "Minerva's text was a cry for help. What exactly did you tell her about Keanu?" "Nothing. This isn't about him. Minerva is sick. She has strep."... "It's not strep. She is self-destructing, Pat, she needs --"..."She is fine --"

Pat makes the decision for her daughter about whether or not she should have seen her father. "He deserves to be hated, Joan. He would not have been a good fath--" and when told by her sister that Keanu is not an evil person she becomes furious. In trying to protect her daughter from being hurt by her father, Pat has hurt Minny instead.

Minerva Watson is a plucky girl whose bravery in confronting both her parents and in taking the first steps to heal and to forgive her mother for what she has done make her an appealing character. Throughout the novel, Minny uses music, she plays the ukulele and she writes songs, to help her cope with the stresses of school, her mother, her father having abandoned her, and her relationship with Hayes.

The major disappointment in Get Happy is that the reader never gets to experience the heartbreaking reunion between Minny and her father, Keanu. Instead we are told what will happen - she will meet him for the first time in family therapy- which is much less satisfying. Nevertheless, Amato succeeds in portraying the turmoil children experience when parents are separated through a story filled with wit, humour and many touching moments . She ends Get Happy on a hopeful note with Minny experiencing the beginnings of a first love with Hayes and continuing to focus on her songwriting and playing her ukulele. The message here is that life can go on and be happy in spite of deep hurt and loss.

Those interested in songwriting will find Get Happy has song verses throughout and a collection of Amato's songs at the back of the novel. Mary Amato runs songwriting workshops and has a website specifically geared towards songwriting, Thrum With Me:https://www.maryamato.com/thrum-society/ .

Book Details:
Get Happy by Mary Amato
New York: Egmont USA     2014
244 pp.