THE EMPANADAS THAT ABUELA MADE

The Empanadas That Abuela Made

Written By: Por Diane Gonzales Bertrand

Illustrated By: De Alex Pardo DeLange
Spanish Interpretations By: Gebriela Baeza Ventura
Pinata Books, 2003
28 pages

            I chose to read The Empanadas That Abuela Made after it was recommended to me by the Annistion librarian. The story is told by using the cumulative folk song style and it is written in both English and Spanish. The story  it is about a grandmother who makes her family the Hispanic traditional meal, empanadas. At the end of the book the author provides a recipe for empanada in both English and Spanish. 

           The illustrator of the story created a story of her own while still following the story line. The illustrations show the family playing around with each other on a rolling pin while sampling grandmas empanadas as she bakes. Also the illustrations show the closeness and the love that the family has for each other. Food does typically bring us all together. The text, on the other hand, is placed most formally. 

         This story has not won any awards, but it is a nice story to have in a classroom library. I think that with the increasing amount of Hispanic's within classrooms, that it is important to include stories that are written in both English and Spanish. I would recommend this story for students between first and third grade. I would use this story to teach students about what different cultures eat and to talk about different writing styles. For a writing activity, I would have students write about a traditional food within their family.