Too Many Tamales [hc]
Written by Gary Soto & illustrated by Ed Martinez
Christmas Eve started out so perfectly for Maria. Snow had fallen and the streets glittered. Maria's favorite cousins were coming over and she got to help make the tamales for Christmas dinner. It was almost too good to be true when her mother left the kitchen for a moment and Maria got to try on her beautiful diamond ring...
This is the story of a treasure thought to be lost in a batch of tamales; of a desperate and funny attempt by Maria and her cousins to eat their way out of trouble; and the warm way a family pulls together to make it a perfect Christmas after all. 32 pages
"More than the usual feel-good holiday celebration of ethnic pride, this warm picture book about a Latina child at Christmas is rooted in cultural tradition and in the physicalness of happy family life, with echoes of universal fairy tale. It's also a very funny story, full of delicious surprise." -Booklist, Starred Review (Ages 3-6)
September 15, 1993
AR Level=3.4
Lexile Level=580
