Salsa Stories [Hardcover]

Lulu Delacre (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2000 | Age Level: 7 and up

Welcome to Carmen Teresa's festive home, where relatives, friends, and neighbors from all over Latin America gather to celebrate New Year's Day. Dona Josepha gives Carmen Teresa a blank notebook, and everyone suggests that she fill it with stories that the guests remember from childhood. So begins a unique collection of tales told by a charming cast of characters. In the end, Carmen Teresa decides to create a cookbook filled with recipes for the dishes mentioned in each story.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It is New Year's Day, and friends and family from all over Latin America arrive at Carmen Teresa's house for the festivities. When a neighbor gives her a gift of a blank notebook, everyone has an idea of how she should fill it. The discussion leads to an outpouring of stories by Carmen Teresa's loved ones. Loosely following a year of Latin American holidays--the procession for the Lord of Miracles, a special birthday, the Night of San Juan, and Palm Sunday, among others--the narration gives a warm, lively sense of family tradition. The one common thread through all these stories from Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Peru, and Argentina, is... food! Scrumptious tortillas, coconut sherbet, chiles rellenos, arroz con pollo, codfish stew, nougat candy, and more. Following the seven heartwarming, humorous, and fascinating stories, author Lulu Delacre includes recipes for all the delicious-sounding foods mentioned.

When award-winning author Delacre set out to collect family recipes for a cookbook of traditional Latin American foods, she was amazed at how much more she gleaned: "How often the flavors of our childhood unlock memories from our past." Delacre's wonderful stylized linocuts are just icing on the proverbial cake (or salsa on the tortilla). Young fans of Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate will love this delectable combination of food for the belly and food for the soul. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

Delacre (Arroz Con Leche) serves up a mixed menu here, combining a rather strained collection of seven tales featuring Latin American foods with recipes for the dishes mentioned. At a New Year's gathering of Carmen Teresa's extended family, a guest presents the girl with a blank book. When the child wonders what she should write in the volume, her mother suggests she "collect stories from our family and friends." Relatives take turns relaying tales of their childhood in diverse locales such as Puerto Rico, Mexico, Cuba, Argentina and Peru. Carmen Teresa's grandfather recalls fearing that he would not be allowed to partake of his mother's tortilla dish as punishment for lying to her. And in one of the most touching vignettes, her aunt describes a school field trip to a nursing home, where she met a blind woman who shared her forbidden sweets. In the end, Carmen Teresa decides to fill her new book with the recipes at the core of the storytellers' reminiscences. The recipes, most of which require significant adult participation, range from main dishes (chicken with rice, codfish stew) to desserts (nougat candy, coconut flan). Though Delacre's narrative shapes an appealing portrait of several generations from all over the globe, uniting in a close-knit family, the tales' organizing premiseAfoodAgrows repetitious and forced (e.g., "We are helping Mam prepare the sofrito sauce for her arroz con pollo. This is the rice dish for which Mam is famous among all our friends and family"). Despite a text spiced with exotic words and locales, youngsters may find this rather bland fare. Ages 9-up.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1st edition (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590631187
• ISBN-13: 978-0590631181
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,109,285 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

LULU DELACRE has been writing and illustrating children's books for almost thirty years, striving to create quality literature. Her Latino heritage and her wide ranging life experiences inform her books.

Delacre's many beloved books include Horn Book Fanfare Book, "Arroz con Leche: Popular Songs and Rhymes from Latin America" and "Salsa Stories", an IRA Outstanding International Book. "The Bossy Gallito", "Arrorro mi nino: Latino Lullabies and Gentle Games" and "The Storyteller's Candle" are winners of the Pura Belpre Honor Medal for Illustration.

"Alicia Afterimage", the author's latest work is the Delacre's first book for young adults. It was written in memory of her daughter, who was killed in a car accident at the age of sixteen. After Alicia's death in 2004, Delacre interviewed twenty-two of her daughter's friends; the thoughts, emotions, and memories they shared became the basis for the book. "I believe that if this book helps bring some solace to others who must endure grief," she says, "it will have achieved its goal."

Delacre has lectured extensively throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and France. She is a grantee of the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Maryland, and has been honored both as a Maryland Woman in the Arts and as a Write from Maryland Author.

A native of Puerto Rico, Delacre lives in Maryland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Recipe for Success, April 9, 2000

By 

Veronica (Washington D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Salsa Stories (Hardcover)

Salsa Stories is a fabulous combination of 2 parts story, 1 part pictures, and 1 part food. This friendly mélange makes for delectable reading when paired with the endearing stories in this collection. A very interesting aspect of the collection is that the stories follow the calendar, beginning with arroz con pollo on New Year's Day, and ending with coconut tembleque at Christmas. Likewise, Salsa Stories also follows its delightful characters all over Latin America and will lead them into your heart. The characters go through such universal problems as sibiling rivalry, having to tell the truth, and trying to coax your friend's parents into letting them play with you, in stories that transcend geography and ethnicity. Salsa Stories is a lovely book for all.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Introduction to Latino Culture, December 30, 2006

By 

F. Hamilton "[e-mail]" (St. Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Salsa Stories (Hardcover)

_Salsa Stories_ introduces readers to Latin American culture. It welcomes us to family celebrations and makes us feel at home.

The book includes delightful stories collected from family and friends. When Carmen Teresa receives a blank book as a New Year's gift, everyone at their gathering seems to have a favorite experience to share with the group and contribute to the book. Although the storytellers now live in the United States, their stories come from Guatemala, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Mexico, and Peru. A sprinkling of Spanish words enhances the stories' authenticity. The stories paint vivid pictures of everyday customs and special celebrations -- designing a sawdust carpet for Holy Week, for example, or celebrating the Night of San Juan.

Perhaps even more memorable than the unique experiences are the universal ones, the experiences that traverse cultural lines and remind us of things we human beings have in common: parents working to provide a good life for their children, children testing their boundaries, siblings vying with one another.

It is not surprising that these stories involving various family celebrations also involve food. By providing recipes for the dishes mentioned in her stories, author Lulu Delacre invites readers to partake of her culture on an even more intimate level.

Each story includes a full-page linocut, depicting a key scene. Smaller linocuts illustrate some of the foods in the recipe section at the back of the book. Although most of the Spanish words and phrases are clear from context, Delacre provides a glossary that includes pronunciations, even of proper names.

Every family can benefit from discovering and collecting its stories. Through the process of collection, people become better acquainted with each other -- and with their family history. When stories are written down, they can be shared with others and preserved for future generations.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Salsa Stories, April 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Salsa Stories (Hardcover)

Salsa Stories is a wonderful children's book. The stories enrich a reader's sense of Latin American culture, from the holidays to the fabulous foods! The illustrations are exquisite and complement the text very well. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who likes fun-filled stories and irresistable recipes!