Author :
Gary Soto,
Illustrator : Ed Martinez,
Translators :
Alma Flor Ada
and F.
Isabel Campoy
Preschool - 2nd Grade
Que monton de
tamales
Too Many Tamales
Que
monton de tamales, Softcover, Spanish, Book, Gary Soto,
Ed Martinez, Alma Flor Ada
and F.
Isabel Campoy, Preschool
- 2nd Grade, 9780698114135, $7.99
Too Many Tamales,
Softcover, English, Book, Gary Soto,
Ed Martinez,
Preschool - 2nd Grade, 9780698114128,
$7.99
$95.92 for the Translation Books by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy Spanish Set, Including 20%-Off, Free Shipping, and No Sales Tax : 16 Softcover Spanish Books and 1 Boardbook
Any child who has ever delighted in a forbidden snack or tried to cover up a mistake will enjoy reading this wonderful Christmas story that reflects the holiday traditions of Latino culture.
Listen to Vienna Rose read Too Many Tamales to you. A marvelous example of the magical encounter between a child and books that we wish for all children.
Amazon : Maria is
feeling so grown-up, wearing her mother's apron and helping to knead the masa
for the Christmas corn tamales. Her mother even let Maria wear some perfume and
lipstick for the big family celebration that evening. When her mother takes off
her diamond ring so it won't become coated with the messy masa, Maria decides
that life would be perfect if she could wear the ring, too. Trouble begins when
she sneakily slips the sparkly ring on her thumb and resumes her kneading. Uh
oh. It is not until later that night, after all the tamales have been cooked and
after all her cousins and relatives have arrived, that Maria suddenly realizes
what must have happened to the precious ring. Ed Martinez's warm oil paintings
celebrate the riches of South American Christmas colors--adobe reds, dusty gold,
lacey whites, and rain-forest greens. Martinez also has a gift for capturing
children's animated expressions, especially when Maria begs her cousins to help
her find the missing ring by secretly eating the enormous stack of steaming
tamales! Gary Soto's delightful Christmas-spirit closure will relieve young
readers who empathize with the negligent Maria. Grown-ups, too, will appreciate
this playful reminder about the virtues of forgiveness and family togetherness.
(Ages 4 and older)
Publishers Weekly : Snow is falling, preparations for a family feast are
underway and the air is thick with excitement. Maria is making tamales, kneading
the masa and feeling grown-up. All she wants is a chance to wear her mother's
diamond ring, which
sparkles temptingly on the kitchen counter. When her mother steps away, Maria
seizes her opportunity and dons the ring, then carries on with her work. Only
later, when the tamales are cooled and a circle of cousins gathered, does Maria
remember the diamond. She and the cousins search every tamale--with their teeth.
Of course the ring turns out to be safely on Mom's finger. Soto, noted for such
fiction as Baseball in April , confers some pleasing touches--a tear on Maria's
finger resembles a diamond; he allows the celebrants a Hispanic identity without
making it the main focus of the text--but overall the plot is too sentimental
(and owes a major debt to an I Love Lucy episode). Martinez's sensuous oil
paintings in deep earth tones conjure up a sense of family unity and the warmth
of holidays. The children's expressions are deftly rendered--especially when
they are faced with a second batch of tamales. Ages 4-8.
Kirkus Reviews : The whole family is coming for Christmas, so Maria and her parents are busy making tamales--Maria helps Mom knead the masa, and her father puts them in the pot to boil. While they're working, Maria secretly tries on Mom's diamond ring, then forgets about it until she's playing with her cousins. Since it's not on her thumb she's sure it's in a tamale, so the four cousins consume all 24 (with some difficulty) in hopes of finding it. No luck--the ring's on Mom's finger, after all. In this family, there's no scolding: Aunt Rosa says, ``It looks like we all have to cook up another batch,'' and so they do, three generations laughing and working together. Soto's simple text is charmingly direct; he skips explanations, letting characters reveal themselves by what they do. Martinez's realistic, nicely composed paintings are glowing with light and life, while he reinforces the story with particularly expressive faces and gestures. This one should become a staple on the holiday menu. (Picture book. 4- 8)
Spanish
Translation Books by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy :