Children's Literature Multicultural Book Annotation

John Smith

Children’s Literature Course

Multicultural Children’s Literature Annotation Assignment

Citation

Book Title: Too Many Tamales

Author: Gary Soto

Illustrator: Ed Martinez

Publisher and City: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York

Date: 1993

Pages: 32

Type of Book

Picture Book

Genre

Contemporary Fiction

Subject(s)

Christmas; Mexican Americans; Rings

Literacy Concepts and Strategies

* Problem/solution

* Narrative elements

* Character

* Theme

Narrative Description

Too Many Tamales is set in a Mexican-American family household during Christmas time. Maria is a girl who helps her parents to prepare tamales for the family. Her mother removes her ring and places it on the counter to knead masa, a type of dough used to make tamales. When her mother leaves the room to answer the phone, Maria cannot resist the urge to put the ring on herself before beginning to knead the masa, at which point the ring lands in the dough unnoticed. Her mother soon returns to the kitchen to relieve Maria from the kneading. Family members arrive a few hours later, and after greeting all of them Maria takes her cousins Dolores, Teresa, and Danny upstairs to play. Realizing that the ring is missing moments later, Maria rushes back down to the kitchen. Believing that the ring is within one of the tamales, Maria proceeds to consume them all with her cousins, but the ring remains unfound. Maria reluctantly goes to the living room to inform her mother of what has happened, only to discover that the ring is back on her mother’s finger. Still, she tells the family of the events that transpired, which they respond to by cheerfully congregating in the kitchen to prepare a second helping of tamales.

Evaluation

This children’s tale integrates aspects of Mexican-American culture (food and family gatherings) into the broadly relatable setting of Christmas. The story is structured linearly, making it easy to follow for young readers. Additionally, the core...