Written by Jorge Argueta
Illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh
- Age Range: 4 - 7 years
- Grade Level: Preschool - 2
- Series: Bilingual Cooking Poems
- Hardcover: 32 pages
- Publisher: Groundwood Books; Tra Blg edition
- ISBN-10: 1554984424
- ISBN-13: 978-1554984428
In this new cooking poem, Jorge Argueta brings us a fun
and easy recipe for a yummy salsa. A young boy and his sister gather the
ingredients and grind them up in a molcajete, just like their ancestors used to
do, singing and dancing all the while. The children imagine that their
ingredients are different parts of an orchestra — the tomatoes are bongos and
kettledrums, the onion, a maraca, the cloves of garlic, trumpets and the
cilantro, the conductor. They chop and then grind these ingredients in the molcajete,
along with red chili peppers for the “hotness” that is so delicious, finally
adding a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of salt. When they are finished, their
mother warms tortillas and their father lays out plates, as the whole family,
including the cat and dog, dance salsa in mouth-watering anticipation.
Winner
of the International Latino Book Award for Guacamole, Jorge
Argueta's text is complemented by the rich, earthy illustrations of Duncan
Tonatiuh, winner of the Pura Belpré Award. His interest in honoring the art of
the past in contemporary contexts is evident in these wonderful illustrations,
which evoke the pre-Columbian Mixtec codex.