This modern classic celebrates the tradition of tamales and family bonding at Christmas.
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.
Also available in Spanish as ¡Qué montón de tamales!
"A very funny story, full of delicious surprises . . . a joyful success." --Booklist, starred review
"A warm family story that combines glowing art with a well-written text to tell of a girl's dilemma." --School Library Journal, starred review
"A mini-drama rendered so acutely that anyone who has lost something special will respond." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Born in Fresno, California, to Mexican American parents, Gary Soto is an acclaimed poet, essayist, and fiction writer. The awards for this multitalented author are many, ranging from the US Award for International Poetry Forum to a Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award, and was nominated for a National Book Award. His other credits include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the California Arts Council. When he is not writing, Mr. Soto serves as a volunteer English teacher at his church. He lives with his wife, Carolyn, and their daughter, Mariko, in Berkeley, California.
View titles by Gary Soto
Ed Martinez moved to the United States from Argentina at the age of five. He learned to draw by making pictures of the horses his father took him to ride. Since graduating art school in New York City he has illustrated magazines and books for all ages. He lives in Connecticut.
View titles by Ed Martinez
This modern classic celebrates the tradition of tamales and family bonding at Christmas.
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.
Also available in Spanish as ¡Qué montón de tamales!
Praise
"A very funny story, full of delicious surprises . . . a joyful success." --Booklist, starred review
"A warm family story that combines glowing art with a well-written text to tell of a girl's dilemma." --School Library Journal, starred review
"A mini-drama rendered so acutely that anyone who has lost something special will respond." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Author
Born in Fresno, California, to Mexican American parents, Gary Soto is an acclaimed poet, essayist, and fiction writer. The awards for this multitalented author are many, ranging from the US Award for International Poetry Forum to a Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award, and was nominated for a National Book Award. His other credits include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the California Arts Council. When he is not writing, Mr. Soto serves as a volunteer English teacher at his church. He lives with his wife, Carolyn, and their daughter, Mariko, in Berkeley, California.
View titles by Gary Soto
Ed Martinez moved to the United States from Argentina at the age of five. He learned to draw by making pictures of the horses his father took him to ride. Since graduating art school in New York City he has illustrated magazines and books for all ages. He lives in Connecticut.
View titles by Ed Martinez
