Salsa Stories

by Lulu Delacre

Carmen Teresa has the guests of her family's New Year's Day celebration relate their memories of growing up in various Latin American countries, and she adds to the journal the recipes to the dishes mentioned in each story.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Cultural, Middle Grade, Spanish Literature, Short Stories, Chapter Books

144 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2000

About the author

Three-time Pura Belpré Award honoree Lulu Delacre has been writing and illustrating children's books since 1980. The New York Times Bestselling artist was born and raised in Puerto Rico to Argentinean parents. Delacre says her Latino heritage and her life experiences inform her work. Her many titles include Arroz con Leche: Popular Songs and Rhymes from Latin America, a Horn Book Fanfare Book in print for over 30 years. Her bilingual picture book ¡Olinguito, de la A a la Z! Descubriendo el bosque nublado; Olinguito, from A to Z! Unveiling the Cloud Forest and her story collection Us, in Progress: Short Stories About Young Latinos have received multiple starred reviews and awards. Among her latest works are the art of Turning Pages by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Luci Soars. Delacre has lectured internationally and served as a juror for the National Book Awards. She has exhibited at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, The Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators in New York, the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico, and the Zimmerli Art Museum among other venues. Reading is Fundamental honored her with a Champion of Children’s Literacy Award. For more visit her at www.luludelacre.com.

Reviews

[Bernadette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed these original and moving short stories. I was excited when I flipped through the book and saw that recipes were included. My husband loves to cook and I love to eat all kinds of different foods so I look forward to giving one of these a try. Although many Latino books may focus superficially on the foods and holidays from different countries, these stories are so much more than that. However, the importance of food, family, and celebrations to each culture is apparent in every story. I loved that the characters came from all different countries and the readers were given glimpses into so many cultures and traditions.

[La Tonya Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a charming book about Carmen Teresa's Family and Friends. She receives a journal on New Year's Day as a gift. Her family and friends immediately start to tell her stories of their childhood and experiences. A lot of the stories are full of adventure, happiness, and food. Carmen Teresa decides to write a recipe book of all the wonderful food to remember each story. The journal is now called "Carmen Teresa's Book of Fantastic Family Recipes." A delightful read. There are are real recipes at the end of the book from Mama's Arroz con Pollo to Marilia's Tembleque Coconut Dessert (Puerto Rico)

Quotes:

"You know, Fernando, anyone can make mistakes. But not everyone has the courage to admit it. Gracias. Thank you for telling the truth."

"Like what?" Mami asked. "Roberto's school shoes? Groceries? Mama Rosa's medicine?

We had gone to the nursing home to give aguinaldos. And what a very special aguinaldo I had been given - Elenita's friendship.

[Bibliobites Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable collection of short stories for children, in the guise of memories shared among family and friends. Settings in Guatemala, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Mexico, and Peru. Themes of loving family relationships, joy in simple pleasures, and memories made around food, with recipes in the back. Fully recommend, whether you’re looking for some ‘windows’ or ‘mirrors.’ Also, I’d like to find a Spanish language copy, because I think I’m at the point where I could finally read it.

[RLL 520 Sharonda Kimbrough · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this was a cute book. This book was about a girl that was given a gift (I won't tell you what it was) and uses it to record different stories from members of her family. I enjoyed the different stories in the book. There was a family tree at the beginning of the book and favorite recipes from different members of the family in the back. I believe this book would be a good read for a girl probably in the third or fourth grade. There were some Spanish words woven into the stories, however I couldn't always figure out what they meant. My favorite story was Tia Marilia's. My criticism would be that the stories didn't always transition smoothly from one character to another and I would have liked to hear more from the main character. There isn't much art work, but the art within the book is sketched in black and white and I could identify many cultural pieces in the story and felt they were genuine.

[afra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it. The book is a collection of short stories related by characters from various Spanish-speaking regions (Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Peru, Cuba, Argentina). It blends elements of food and music with the historical, political, and economic context of the characters' lives. Even though the book is targeted at upper elementary aged students, more than one of the stories left me teary-eyed.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a DELIGHTFUL book! This is one of the books I bought for our Esperanza Library with the money donated by two of our board members--Steven Winitzky and Patricia Matthews. It might be fun for us to put together a similar book with stories and recipes from our Esperanza scholars and staff--and that we can possibly sell as a fundraiser.

[Nataliah · Rating 5 out of 5]

i liked this book because it told you about a lot of cultural things it had recipes for spanish food classics and it wasnt boring or long it got straight to the point

[Nic]

I read the book called, Salsa Stories. This book was written by Lulu Delacre. I found this book to be interesting. I liked these moving short stories. I like the characters in this book also. I like how the short stories are still all focused on the same thing in a way. I like how it has that Latin American culture. In this book the characters are always spending time with each other as a family.

I like this book. It is a quick read. I would not recommend to most people in highschool because they probably would not like it. Adults may like this book a little more for some reason. At first i just grabbed the book so i could get one fast. To my surprise I actually liked this book. I started reading it and it made me a little excited.

I like how this book had things about celebration. I liked how it also had certain holidays. I like how it was talking about Christmas and then New Years. I also liked the recipes it had in the book. In all the book was pretty good. This book was not my favorite, but it was still a book I enjoyed. If i was to rate this book I would give it a good rating of 7 or 8.

[The Reading Countess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ordered through Scholastic using bonus points, I picked this one up for three main reasons: it was a collection of short stories and I am constantly adding shorter texts to both serve as mentor texts and to read during days that our GT population is out of the room and I cannot read from our chapter read aloud; but perhaps most importantly because it was a multi-cultural text. I don't think teachers can share stories about ALL kinds of people enough. I want my students to recognize themselves in the stories we share.

This quick read begins with a journal given to Carmen Teresa at a family gathering. She immediately begins to collect stories from each family member, who recalls a time in his/her past. The beautiful Spanish language is infused into the text, making this an authentic story about the rich "Salsa Stories" heritage she comes from. The food, traditions and importance that family plays is evident in each story and would make a wonderful addition to any middle grade classroom library.

*left in Missouri at the Lewis and Clark site for Project Recycle Your Read

[Maryann Kasouha]

The book Salsa Stories by Lulu Delacre is a great family book that talks about a girl named Carmen Teresa who keeps a record of her family’s stories and recipes. Read more to find out most of Carmen’s family’s childhoods. Carmen gets a book and she starts to wonder what to write. Her family members give her ideas on what to write. Go on an adventure to see what stories Carmen Teresa and her family have written in the book. I recommend this book because I liked it and it is entertaining and it might have some Mexican Spanish and I recommend this book if you like family stories on daily lives then you should read this book. Make sure to see and read this book if you are interested in reading a book about a girl named Carmen Teresa and her Family. That is why I liked the book. That is my review for the book Salsa Stories by Lulu Delacre.

[Maryann Kasouha]

The book Salsa Stories by Lulu Delacre is a great family book that talks about a girl named Carmen Teresa who keeps a record of her family’s stories and recipes. Read more to find out most of Carmen’s family’s childhoods. Carmen gets a book and she starts to wonder what to write. Her family members give her ideas on what to write. Go on an adventure to see what stories Carmen Teresa and her family have written in the book. I recommend this book because I liked it and it is entertaining and it might have some Mexican Spanish and I recommend this book if you like family stories on daily lives then you should read this book. Make sure to see and read this book if you are interested in reading a book about a girl named Carmen Teresa and her Family. That is why I liked the book. That is my review for the book Salsa Stories by Lulu Delacre.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book with one of my book clubs in my fourth grade classroom. A girl named Carmen Teresa is given the gift of a blank book for the new year. She decides to fill it with the stories of all her family and friends gathered to celebrate the holiday. This collection of short stories tells about food, community, and kindness.

I really liked this book and my students have been enjoying it too. I think many of them see themselves reflected in these stories and most of them have never read a short story collection before.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the short story, "New Year's Day." Musical rhythmic language mix delightfully with sensory details of food, music, and conversation to create an immersive storytelling experience. This is a celebration of life and all its joys--family, food, culture, and heritage. To read this is to fall in love with language and details, and to long for a Mama to cook you special dinners! I look forward to reading the rest of the stories in this book!

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is tied together by the introduction and final chapter about Carmen Teresa and her family together at a party. The stories that are in between are about her grandparents and a few other people. Most of the stories are about their childhoods growing up in various countries. Perhaps short stories are not my cup of tea or I'm not the target audience but I did not find these stories particularly captivating. I wanted more out of most of the stories.

[Salsabrarian]

At a family and friends New Year’s Day party, Carmen Teresa receives a blank book as a gift from a family friend. All the friends and relatives at the party tell her to fill it with stories, and each adult tells a story from their youth in Guatemala, Peru, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Argentina. Latin American recipes of foods mentioned in the stories are included.

[Marley Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing recipes in the back, and belivable stories through-out.

[Stacey Mulholland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book I'm not sure how many kids would read it cover to cover. Even though the book's short stories are fiction I might use one or two as examples of personal narratives.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book can inspire kids to collect their family stories and family recipes. I wonder if we could create a classroom collection - each child retell a family story centered around food.

[Lisy V · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute book of short stories involving family, culture and food, including recipes at the end of the book!

[Laura Smith Ramsborg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a ton about the cultures and traditions of a variety of Latin cultures. This is an engaging middle grade read I’ve enjoyed sharing with students.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book needs to be read aloud to all. Rich in culture, life lessons and recipes! Seriously, the last ten pages contained Puerto Rican dishes I can’t wait to try.

[Noa]

I remember reading this as a kid and enjoying the stories and even the recipes at the end. I liked the recipes so much I wrote them down in my recipe book, which I still have.

[Bridget O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet middle grade book that focuses on stories of one family's childhood memories from different Spanish speaking counties (Guatemala, Cuba, Peru, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Argentina). It's a little hard to believe that a three generation family would all come from different countries but ignoring this aspect, the stories integrate Spanish words (there's a glossary), national traditions, and delicious national recipes. There is also a story that broaches living at the Mexico-US border which was particularly interesting to read at a middle grade level.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sweet little book has been tucked away on my shelf for several years, and I finally decided to give it a chance. It was definitely worth the read... short, sweet, and memorable. A series of short stories all focused on different Latin American characters that come to a New Year's dinner at her home. I love it all: writing style, story line, length... it's truly a short and sweet masterpiece.

They story felt like a series of personal narratives... and I had to keep checking that this was fiction because they felt so real... I really enjoyed this book.

[Paulina Casillas · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest I liked this book. I found everything very interesting and the family stories were very nice and they left you with some very important lessons. I liked the idea of ​​telling the family stories and I also really liked the drawings.

Also something that I liked was that they put the recipes that they mentioned in the whole book at the end and they are very useful if you end up using them. In conclusion, I liked the book. I found it nice and entertaining and it is not a long book so it is good to read it.

[Hendrix Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the recipes!

[Liz Benbow · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very “meh” to me. It includes a series of short stories that could be read quickly to students, but none of the stories blew me away.

[I_love_bookz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because it mixed many different Latin America countries.

[Sabreen Sahouri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very good book for kids, I loved it♥️
celebrating new year with my family is so fun,I hope to enjoy many activities on this days

[Melissa Ganka-Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a great short book absolutely full of Latin American tradition, language, history, food, and story. A perfect read for Latin American history month! Can't wait to read it to my students.