Tortillitas para mamá

Rating:
Summary: Has some beautiful, memorable verses - and I should know!
Review: A few reviewers have blasted this book for a couple of verses that contain ideas no longer acceptable in our society- like the Dad getting the good tortillas and the Mother the burnt ones. I agree that this is something to consider. I want to add, though, that my Mother read to me from this book when I was a child and it in no way ingrained these ideas into my young mind. As a young girl, in fact, this was one of my favorite books. Many of the other verses in Tortillas para mama are so beautiful that I think it would be a shame not to recommend it. There is one about the moon eating prickly pears (ahi viene la luna comiendo tuna) and another about a mother being an angel that I can recite to this day. If you are concerned about the questionable lines (and I reiterate that there are only a couple!), I would suggest you either leave those poems out when you read or else talk to your children about what those lines mean and how things have changed since they were written. It might end up being very constructive!

Rating:
Summary: Has some beautiful, memorable verses - and I should know!
Review: A few reviewers have blasted this book for a couple of verses that contain ideas no longer acceptable in our society- like the Dad getting the good tortillas and the Mother the burnt ones. I agree that this is something to consider. I want to add, though, that my Mother read to me from this book when I was a child and it in no way ingrained these ideas into my young mind. As a young girl, in fact, this was one of my favorite books. Many of the other verses in Tortillas para mama are so beautiful that I think it would be a shame not to recommend it. There is one about the moon eating prickly pears (ahi viene la luna comiendo tuna) and another about a mother being an angel that I can recite to this day. If you are concerned about the questionable lines (and I reiterate that there are only a couple!), I would suggest you either leave those poems out when you read or else talk to your children about what those lines mean and how things have changed since they were written. It might end up being very constructive!

Rating:
Summary: Toddler loves it!
Review: I am a Kindergarten teacher and the kids in my class love this book. It presents the Spanish language and culture in such an accessible and engaging way -- the pictures are great! A lot of my English speaking students were interested in learning Spanish. I was amazed at how quickly both Spanish and English speakers picked up the language when I used chants and music in the classroom. It's magic!

Rating:
Summary: A horrible, sexist book
Review: I am an education student and a parent, I purchased this book for a school project on multi-cultural literature. When I received it I was horrified at some of the poems!!! Many of the poems in this book demean women. One poem entitled "Chiquita Bonita" says that if a girl gets her clothing dirty her mother will beat her, another poem "Little Tortillas" says that the good tortillas go to papa and the burnt ones go to mama. I am all for the concept of introducing small children to many cultures and having two languages in one book but there are many books out their that do it much better than this one. (May I suggest Salsa by Lillian Colon-Vila and Roberta Collier-Morales)

Tortillas Para Mama presents a very negative view of Hispanic culture and I am not quite sure how it ever got published reading it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Rating:
Summary: Sorry I Bought This One
Review: I won't be reading this book to my daughter. The idea of beating a child for getting her dress dirty is not one I want to impart to my child. Very sad!

Rating:
Summary: Sorry I Bought This One
Review: My three year old loves this book. We read it all the time and now she is reciting the rhymes to me! We are raising her bilingually and this book has helped a lot to introduce her to the Spanish language and culture.