Tamalitos

by Jorge Argueta

Published 26 March 2013
In this bilingual cooking poem for young children, Jorge Argueta encourages more creativity and fun in the kitchen as he describes how to make tamalitos from corn masa and cheese, wrapped in cornhusks.


The book opens with an homage to corn - white, yellow, blue, purple, red and black. In Maya mythology the first men and women are even said to be made of corn. It has been an important food for people in Central America for centuries, and one of the most delicious things you can make using corn masa and husks are tamalitos, or little tamales.


In simple poetic language, Argueta shows young cooks how to mix and knead the dough before dropping a spoonful into a cornhusk, wrapping it up and then steaming the little package. He once again makes cooking a full sensory experience, including beating on a pot like a drum, dancing the corn dance, delighting in the smell of corn masa ... And at the end, he suggests inviting the whole family to come and enjoy the delicious tamalitos "made of corn with love."


Domi's vivid paintings, featuring a sister and her little brother making tamalitos together, are a perfect accompaniment to the colorful text.


Salsa

by Jorge Argueta

Published 17 March 2015
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.

En este nuevo poema cocinar, Jorge Argueta nos trae una receta fácil y divertida para una deliciosa salsa. Un niño y su hermana se reúnen los ingredientes y se muelen en un molcajete, al igual que sus antepasados solían hacer, cantando y bailando todo el tiempo.


Guacamole is the third title of Jorge Argueta's popular bilingual Cooking Poems series, celebrating the joys of preparing, eating and sharing food.

Now available in paperback, Guacamole is the third title of Jorge Argueta’s popular bilingual Cooking Poems series, celebrating the joys of preparing, eating and sharing food.

Guacamole originated in Mexico with the Aztecs and has long been popular in North America, especially in recent years due to the many health benefits of avocados. This version of the recipe is easy to make, calling for just avocados, limes, cilantro and salt. A little girl dons her apron, singing and dancing around the kitchen as she shows us what to do. Poet Jorge Argueta sees beauty, magic and fun in everything around him — avocados are like green precious stones, salt falls like rain, cilantro looks like a little tree and the spoon that scoops the avocado from its skin is like a tractor.

As in all the titles in this series, Guacamole conveys the pleasure of making something delicious to eat for people you really love. A great book for families to enjoy together.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.2
With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.5
Identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.6
Name the author and illustrator of a text and define the role of each in presenting the ideas or information in a text.


The second title of Jorge Argueta's popular bilingual Cooking Poems series, celebrates the joys of preparing, eating and sharing food.

Now available in paperback, Arroz con leche / Rice Pudding is the second title of Jorge Argueta’s popular bilingual Cooking Poems series, celebrating the joys of preparing, eating and sharing food.

From sprinkling the rice into the pot, to adding a waterfall of milk, cinnamon sticks, salt stars and sugar snow, Jorge Argueta’s recipe is not only easy to follow, it is a poetic experience. The lively illustrations by Fernando Vilela feature an enthusiastic young cook who finds no end of joy in making and then slurping up the rice pudding with his family.

As in all the titles in this series, Arroz con leche / Rice Pudding conveys the pleasure of making something delicious to eat for people you really love. A great book for families to enjoy together.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.2
With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.