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Posted July 16, 2013
Burro’s Tortillas is a whimsical story about a “little burro” (a small donkey) who noticed that the corn in the fields had grown tall and was ready to harvest. His goal was to harvest the corn and make tortillas. The burro calls his friends, the bobcat, the coyote, and the jackrabbit to help him harvest the corn, but each had an excuse as to why they were not able to help. The burro harvests the corn himself, and once again calls his friends to help him in the next step of tortilla production, removing the kernels. They are again much too busy and give excuses in turn. The story follows the production of tortillas, the burro alone does each step as his friends are obviously too lazy to work. Finally the tortillas are baked and ready to eat; the smell of fresh tortillas wafting through the air. The burro’s friends show up without being called; they are ready to eat the tortillas. The burro responds to his friends by reminding them that they did not help on any of the steps to make the tortillas, now he did not need help in eating them. The burro enjoys a tasty meal of fresh baked tortillas while the bobcat, coyote, and jackrabbit look dejectedly on.
The story is educational on several levels. It follows the production of a famous Mexican food while exposing the readers to something about the culture of Mexico and Central America. The story line introduces Spanish words as well as picturesque Mexican settings. Finally, the author has built the
story around a moral to be learned: he who wants to eat, should also be willing to work.
After the story concludes, the reader finds a section of interactive games to further enhance the learning of Spanish words introduced in the story. It also includes a recipe for making tortillas at home.
Burro’s Tortillas is a fanciful book for children. It exposes children to another culture, a foreign language and a moral. It is a wonderful children’s book. (reviewed by S.Fincannon)
DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for our honest review by Sylvan Dell Publishing. No compensation was received for this review. Opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer.
Posted June 12, 2012
Posted February 14, 2011
Terri Fields' twist on The Little Red Hen is about teamwork and responsibility.
One day a burro decides to make Tortillas out of some corn plants. He asks his friends for help to pick the corn but they decline. The burro is left to pick the corn by himself. Then he asks his friends if they can help him remove the kernels from the corn. Again, they all say no. And again the burro is left to do it alone. Then comes the time to ground the corn into flour; again his friends will not help and he has to make la masa alone while his friends sleep. The last step is to cook the tortillas, and again no one will help him.
After he finishes cooking all the tortillas he asks his friends if they would help him eat them all; they all say yes. However, the burro remembers that none of them had helped him at all and decides that he doesn't need their help to eat the tortillas.
The illustrations are very colorful, made up of reds, blues and greens. The writing style is very simple and uncomplicated; the sentences are not too long but not too short. The tone of this picture book is very deterministic. The burro doesn't give up in his quest to make tortillas, even without his friends' help. Even though he finds the work hard, he never gives up.
This picture book is well written, the illustrations are very attractive and the overall the theme is a wonderful message. One thing in particular that makes this book unique is bits of Spanish words are mixed into the sentences. Burro's Tortillas is great book for all children.
Posted April 12, 2010
Based on the children's classic story, The Little Red Hen, Burro's Tortillas tells the entertaining tale of a burro who discovers a corn crop that is ripe for picking and making tortillas. So he sets off one day to gather the corn and decides to enlist his three friends, the bobcat, coyote and jackrabbit to help him. Unfortunately, little Burro quickly finds out that his friends are not only uninterested in corn picking, they are too busy or feel the hard work is beneath them, so he ends up doing all the work of removing the kernels, washing and grinding them, making the dough balls and baking it entirely by himself. It's a job that is quite extensive and tiresome! Finally, when the smell of fresh tortillas floats into the air, Burro's friends come running over to help him...eat the tortillas that is, but will he take them up on their offer at this point?
Burro's Tortillas is an adorable, whimsical story that includes lovely illustrations, a glance into a different culture and their tortilla making process, and even has a little lesson "twist" about cooperation and helping others. The author has a wonderful knack for mixing together puns, humor, and both English and Spanish words into well developed and memorable characters that will entertain and educate not only children, but even curious adults. To further enhance the reading experience of this great book,Sylvan Dell Publishing has included (at the end of the story) a section entitled 'For Creative Minds,' which specifically includes a few quizzes, a tortilla recipe and also online resources that are packed full of educational materials, related websites and English/Spanish audiobooks.
Quill says: Come visit little burro in his tortilla making adventures, and who knows, maybe you'll want to make some of your own tortillas too!
Posted July 10, 2007
If children like the nursery tale ¿Little Red Hen,¿ they will love Terri Field¿s Spanish version in Burro¿s Tortillas! This humorous tale of a burro who works hard to pick his corn and takes it through the process until the corn kernels becomes delicious tortillas. Yet, his friends bobcat, coyote, and jackrabbit aren¿t interested in helping with the hard work until it comes time to eat the tortillas! The book introduces Spanish words like ¿tortilla¿, ¿metate¿, ¿yo no¿, and ¿mis amigos¿. What a delightful way to learn aspects of another culture and language. In addition, there is a recipe for tortillas in the activity section. Sherry Rogers¿ entertaining illustrations are back with Sylvan Dell in this welcomed book. Children will eagerly spot baby burro in each spread, though he is not mentioned in the text. A preschool or early elementary class will have fun with a corn-growing unit, ending with the making of tortillas. A delightful, must have book for home and school libraries.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted March 15, 2011
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