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Big Moon Tortilla
Marta Enos is having a bad day. It begins when the wind blows her homework out the window and the dogs chew it to pieces. Her grandmother consoles her with a tortilla as "big and pale as a rising full moon," along with ancient words of advice. This charming story, set on a Papago reservation in southern Arizona near the Mexican border, offers Native American wisdom that helps children--and adults as well--put their problems in perspective.
34 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 1998
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53 people want to read
About the author
Joy Cowley
1,495 books103 followersCassia Joy Cowley is a New Zealand author best known for her children's fiction, including the popular series of books Mrs. Wishy-Washy.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 21, 2018
I adored the theme of problem solving in this book. It is set in a Native American village near the Arizona/ Mexico border. The little girl had quite a terrible series of accidents and her Grandmother had wonderful advice from an old Native American story for her. When a problem arises, you can choose to be a rock and do nothing, and eagle and rise above it to see how small it is overall, or a mountain lion and fight it. This is really good advice that I will take and spread to my students. You have to decide how to react to each individual problem. This was on my school's pillars of character reading list for citizenship. The art was lovely and the setting in the village was nice.
October 10, 2017
Marta is an everyday young student whose main priority is her school work. She know that her job as a student is an important one and that her homework must be done in order to go help her abuela make tortillas. However, as she rushes to finish her last assignments, her homework gets blown out the window and her glasses break. Marta is devastate and does not know how she will explain her missing work to her teacher. She is lucky that her abuela is there to comfort her and give her words of wisdom.
Cowly does a very good job of showing the reader that it is okay to make mistakes. Marta is devastated that she had made multiple mistakes and was now unable to help her grandmother make tortillas, but her grandmother's wisdom alleviates the distress. The use of similes and metaphors in abuela's speech really resonates with the reader. Her comparisons to different animals that all have different characteristics compare to Marta and her situation. She hast decide if she wants soar like an eagle or become a rock and not do anything. The figurative language in the story really adds to the overall storyline and develop abuela as a character. Cowly molds abuela to fit into the stereotypical "wise old woman" role through the speech she gives to Marta. The readers can clearly see how much abuela cares about Marta and how she will do anything to help her. Supplementing the text, Dyanne Strongbow illustrates the story and adds vivid scenes to mirror the situations. Bright oranges and reds are used to depict the setting. My favorite part of the illustrations for the sunsets that each animal had as a backdrop to their story. Strongbow did a nice Jon of depicting Marta's small village and making it feel very much like home for the characters. Overall Joy Cowly's book "Big Moon Tortilla " is a story that would make the reader feel very relieved that someone else makes mistakes. This book would make students feel that they are not alone.
Cowly does a very good job of showing the reader that it is okay to make mistakes. Marta is devastated that she had made multiple mistakes and was now unable to help her grandmother make tortillas, but her grandmother's wisdom alleviates the distress. The use of similes and metaphors in abuela's speech really resonates with the reader. Her comparisons to different animals that all have different characteristics compare to Marta and her situation. She hast decide if she wants soar like an eagle or become a rock and not do anything. The figurative language in the story really adds to the overall storyline and develop abuela as a character. Cowly molds abuela to fit into the stereotypical "wise old woman" role through the speech she gives to Marta. The readers can clearly see how much abuela cares about Marta and how she will do anything to help her. Supplementing the text, Dyanne Strongbow illustrates the story and adds vivid scenes to mirror the situations. Bright oranges and reds are used to depict the setting. My favorite part of the illustrations for the sunsets that each animal had as a backdrop to their story. Strongbow did a nice Jon of depicting Marta's small village and making it feel very much like home for the characters. Overall Joy Cowly's book "Big Moon Tortilla " is a story that would make the reader feel very relieved that someone else makes mistakes. This book would make students feel that they are not alone.
February 22, 2018
The book begins with a young Marta Enos, who had just finished her many pages of homework. She is struck by the delicious smell of Grandmother's tortillas, which proves to be a terrible distraction. She absentmindedly knocks her table over, forcing her homework out the open window. She runs after it, but the village dogs beat her to it. Not only that, but she accidentally breaks her glasses! She rushes to her Grandmother, who comforts the grieving child. She tells her a story, consisting of options one can choose from when facing adversity. She could be like a tree, looking high up at different perspectives. She could be like a rock, sitting and doing nothing. She could be like a mountain lion, prepared to fight. The final option was to be like an eagle, flying above all, realizing just how small everything is and how little seemingly big issues matter. Marta makes a choice, in that instant.
Marta is a young Native American girl. She is illustrated with dark hair and tan skin. She appears to be very dedicated to her schooling because losing her homework affected her deeply. These details are important to the plot, in a cultural and personal aspect. I enjoyed the fact that this book gave representation to Native American culture. The wisdom of elders is highly cherished and respected, and that is shown. Furthermore, the artwork was expressive, making it clear how the characters felt. Overall, the quality of the book was amazing. I remember loving it as a child.
I was able to recognize some literary and design elements. Color and tone worked together very smoothly: the color of the art was able to reflect on the tone used in the text. Additionally, I noticed that unity and setting worked together. The setting told in the text agreed with the setting depicted in the artwork. The text was actually enhanced by holistic artwork, showing a main idea.
Marta is a young Native American girl. She is illustrated with dark hair and tan skin. She appears to be very dedicated to her schooling because losing her homework affected her deeply. These details are important to the plot, in a cultural and personal aspect. I enjoyed the fact that this book gave representation to Native American culture. The wisdom of elders is highly cherished and respected, and that is shown. Furthermore, the artwork was expressive, making it clear how the characters felt. Overall, the quality of the book was amazing. I remember loving it as a child.
I was able to recognize some literary and design elements. Color and tone worked together very smoothly: the color of the art was able to reflect on the tone used in the text. Additionally, I noticed that unity and setting worked together. The setting told in the text agreed with the setting depicted in the artwork. The text was actually enhanced by holistic artwork, showing a main idea.
November 19, 2025
This book is lovely for its characterization of the affectionate relationship between a grandmother and a child. Unfortunately the lack of details in O'odham and Pee Posh life might make it sound a bit unusual to folks from Gila River, Salt River, Tohono O'odham lands or related tribal families. For example, why not use the word chumuth instead of tortilla? Why not depict a desert landscape filled with life and variation (as the Land is our religion) instead of unaccented watercolor brown backgrounds and foregrounds? There is also adaptation of a generic 'Native American teaching' at the end, which is alright, but for tribal families, our teachings are much more specific. Aside from those awkward features, the paintings of the Marta Enos and her grandmother are warm and relatable, making the tale a nice bedtime story for ages 4 to 7. O'odham and Pee Posh families can adapt the words here and there to fit with cultural knowledge.
June 24, 2020
Sweet, well-illustrated story about what to do when you encounter a problem. The grandmother is very much a character in the "wise old woman" trope, but it is handles pretty well, and she has some quotable moments.
November 10, 2017
Solid morality story and multicultural characters/setting to boot. The "how to deal with a hard time" advice is perfect for my 4yo and since we live in AZ the Papago tribe setting is perfect.
April 6, 2023
Great lesson on problem solving. Set in southern Arizona.
October 11, 2024
Loved!!!! When there is a problem, we must decide what we will be ❤️
February 26, 2015
Ages 6-9 years.
Marta Enos has two disasters occur. First, her homework blows out the window and is eaten by dogs, and then she drops her glasses and breaks them. Her grandmother gives her advice in the form of a story to help put these small problems into perspective.
This story set in a small village in Arizona near the Mexican border. Marta and her grandmother are Native Americans. This is not really explained in the story, but in the author's note in the back. We have the clue as to their heritage from the illustrations, the fact that Grandmother cooks tortillas, and the tale that Grandmother tells Marta.
The language is really beautiful in this book. There are a lot of metaphors and similes, like comparing Grandmother's tortillas to the full moon, and saying that Marta's flying homework papers "slipped and slid like kites without string." And then of course there is the story Grandmother tells, of choosing to look at problems like a tall tree gazing around at the world, like a rock sitting silent and still, or like an eagle flying high over the ground and seeing the problems far below.
I would use this book with children to help them realize different ways to view a problem so as to not blow them out of proportion. It is also a nice contemporary story of Native Americans in the southern US. It would be a neat thing to make tortillas with a class (homemade tortillas are really easy and really good!!!) to go along with lessons on this book.
*Small note of irony: While writing this review, I was nearly done when I accidentally bumped a button on the computer and the entire thing disappeared. Usually this would have been upsetting, but since I had just finished reading this particular book, I had no choice but to laugh. If only I had a homemade tortilla to go along with it.
Marta Enos has two disasters occur. First, her homework blows out the window and is eaten by dogs, and then she drops her glasses and breaks them. Her grandmother gives her advice in the form of a story to help put these small problems into perspective.
This story set in a small village in Arizona near the Mexican border. Marta and her grandmother are Native Americans. This is not really explained in the story, but in the author's note in the back. We have the clue as to their heritage from the illustrations, the fact that Grandmother cooks tortillas, and the tale that Grandmother tells Marta.
The language is really beautiful in this book. There are a lot of metaphors and similes, like comparing Grandmother's tortillas to the full moon, and saying that Marta's flying homework papers "slipped and slid like kites without string." And then of course there is the story Grandmother tells, of choosing to look at problems like a tall tree gazing around at the world, like a rock sitting silent and still, or like an eagle flying high over the ground and seeing the problems far below.
I would use this book with children to help them realize different ways to view a problem so as to not blow them out of proportion. It is also a nice contemporary story of Native Americans in the southern US. It would be a neat thing to make tortillas with a class (homemade tortillas are really easy and really good!!!) to go along with lessons on this book.
*Small note of irony: While writing this review, I was nearly done when I accidentally bumped a button on the computer and the entire thing disappeared. Usually this would have been upsetting, but since I had just finished reading this particular book, I had no choice but to laugh. If only I had a homemade tortilla to go along with it.
February 4, 2017
In the book Big Moon Tortilla Marta Enos is the main character and she is a young and anxious girl who just wants to eat her grandmother's tortillas. While she is impatiently waiting for them to be ready to eat she ends up in a little bit of some trouble with her homework and well... her glasses. After everything happened Marta becomes very upset and lets it ruin her day. Her grandmother sees that she is down and tries her best to comfort her buy singing a traditional cultural song. Of course Marta is immediately comforted by her words, and one could only assume what yummy delicious food she got in the end!
The first thing that caught my eye as soon as i opened the book were the illustrations. They are done so beautifully and you feel like you're actually in the book with how real they look. It almost looks like the illustrations were hand painted, it is a good possibility that they were. The illustrations make it very easy to understand the story because they go directly with the text. Although there is more text than there usually is in a typical children's book the text is pretty big and I'd say you could pass with doing a read aloud with second graders. All in all the book was very good to the eye and kids would definitely love to hear this nice story considering they sometimes go through troubles and have someone on their side waiting to comfort them and assure them that everything will be okay.
The first thing that caught my eye as soon as i opened the book were the illustrations. They are done so beautifully and you feel like you're actually in the book with how real they look. It almost looks like the illustrations were hand painted, it is a good possibility that they were. The illustrations make it very easy to understand the story because they go directly with the text. Although there is more text than there usually is in a typical children's book the text is pretty big and I'd say you could pass with doing a read aloud with second graders. All in all the book was very good to the eye and kids would definitely love to hear this nice story considering they sometimes go through troubles and have someone on their side waiting to comfort them and assure them that everything will be okay.
October 2, 2016
With great illustrations, Big Moon Tortilla tells the story of Marta Enos, a girl living in the desert. She is working on her homework, when she has the urge to eat some of her grandmother's homemade tortillas. When this happens, she knocks over her homework and it flies out the window, to be chewed apart by the local dogs. Marta is distraught until her Grandmother tells her a healing song about the eagle, who sees problems for how small they really are. Once Marta hears this tale and fed some tortillas, she is cheered up and begins to dance around like an Eagle.
This story I think is good to address the little problems in life that younger students might draw out of proportion. Younger students haven't developed their emotional management skills as well yet so it is key for them to hear stories like this, to help them reflect on their choices after bad things happne.
This story I think is good to address the little problems in life that younger students might draw out of proportion. Younger students haven't developed their emotional management skills as well yet so it is key for them to hear stories like this, to help them reflect on their choices after bad things happne.
July 26, 2008
This story send a message about not letting little problems get to you. The characters are Marta Enos and her grandma. Marta works on her homework as her grandmother cooks tortillas for dinner. While she waits the wind takes away her homework and it ends up ruined and her glasses broken. Her grandmother soothes her and sings her a healing song with a lesson about dealing with problems. The lesson tells of different ways nature (a tree, a rock, a jaguar, an eagle) handles problems, and how we all have to choose which one we want to be when problems arise.
This is the first book I have read by Joy Cowley (that I know of). I appreciate the story's message, but the actual story was not that interesting of a read.
This is the first book I have read by Joy Cowley (that I know of). I appreciate the story's message, but the actual story was not that interesting of a read.
February 9, 2016
This is the story of a little girl whose homework really does get eaten by the dogs! She then breaks her glasses and the night is ruined.... So she thinks. Her grandma sings her a song about how sometimes its best for us to sit and wait, sometimes it is best for us to stand up for whats right, sometimes we need to step back and realize that our problem is not as big as we originally thought.
I really loved this book for its message that we will all have hard days, but when we step back, we see that our problems arent as big as we think they are.
I would definately have this in my classroom library and I would use it when my students think that their problem is the end of the world or just for a end of the day read aloud.
I really loved this book for its message that we will all have hard days, but when we step back, we see that our problems arent as big as we think they are.
I would definately have this in my classroom library and I would use it when my students think that their problem is the end of the world or just for a end of the day read aloud.
October 7, 2013
A 1998 Americas Commended Title
Grandmother's saying in reference to Marta's problem "Too small for a big rainstorm". LOVED this quote. Marta is a young girl who suddenly feels frustrated when her homework is torn up and her glasses are broken. Grandmother is there for advice and shares ways to tackle on her problems. "When we have a problem, we must choose what we shall be" Great references to animals and sayings!! Takes place in the Southwest of the USA.
Grandmother's saying in reference to Marta's problem "Too small for a big rainstorm". LOVED this quote. Marta is a young girl who suddenly feels frustrated when her homework is torn up and her glasses are broken. Grandmother is there for advice and shares ways to tackle on her problems. "When we have a problem, we must choose what we shall be" Great references to animals and sayings!! Takes place in the Southwest of the USA.
November 12, 2016
This is a relatively subtle tale of ways to respond to stressful situations, with emphasis on an effective reframe that allows the main character to overcome stress and reengage in productive behaviors. It also shows the importance of the role of an adult with a good relationship with the child, as the adult engages in calming actions before expecting the child to reframe or problem-solve. An added bonus is the exposure of some minority culture to majority readers.
March 13, 2010
I could practically smell grandma's tortillas cooking while the little girl in this story does everything she can to sneak a taste of them. This Latino-American story is perfect for young children in the primary grades.
June 18, 2014
A little girl's grandmother gives her the wisdom to put her problems in perspective. Cowley gives us a simple story based on a Native American saying that will require children to think deeply about the different perspectives the grandmother presents to her grandchild.
November 30, 2011
I love how diverse this book is, you could use it for just about any lesson you are teaching, it has so many aspects to it. The story is about a little girl living in Mexico with her grandmother who makes homemade tortillas. The book is well written and is just a great story.
May 25, 2014
A wonderful book about Native Americans that teaches the reader lessons on self-control and patience. The main character shows the reader positive ways to problem solve. There are beautiful watercolor illustrations in this book.
November 24, 2016
great perspective of a "normal" Native American girl who is going through the struggles that any other child might face, losing her homework and breaking her glasses and how the wisdom of her grandmother helps her to get through her struggles.
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April 8, 2008This book would be best for older 2nd graders and 3rd graders. Even though it has a lot of pictures, the text is wordy and long. Lovely story, though.
October 16, 2012
What do you do when a problem comes to you and takes away something important? Marta finds out from Grandmother just what to do. Great story.
August 4, 2015
Sweet book. I loved the moon/ tortilla image. And I loved the way the grandmother comforted Marta Enos.
April 6, 2014
This is a great book to show diversity for different cultures in the classroom.
June 22, 2011
This is a cute book with advice from Native Americans on how to deal with a problem.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews