Tia's Tamales

Title:  Tia's Tamales 

Author/Illustrator: Ana Baca/Noel Chilton 

APA Citation:  Baca, A. (2011). Tia's tamales. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press. 

Lexile Score:  N/A (Ages 6-8) 

Target Audience: I think this is a great story for a variety of ages.  It is a bilingual book that emphasizes a strong family bond and making the best out of a bad situation. 

Summary: This was a great story that depicted the bond between a young girl and her grandmother.  The grandmother recalled a story that, much like the tradition of making tamales, had been passed down from generations.  The young girl was intrigued by the twists and turns of the story, and when the grandmother presented Aunt Tia's hat, she knew that the story was true. 

Evaluation:

	4	3	2	1
Theme/Moral	The theme/moral of the story was worthwhile and provided a non-biased message for the reader.	Theme of the story was worthwhile but portrayed a somewhat biased message for the reader.	Theme of the story was somewhat worthwhile, but portrayed a biased message for the reader.	Theme/moral of the story was not worthwhile and portrayed a biased message for the reader.
Characterization	Characters in the story were relatable and did not portray typical stereotypes.	Characters in the story were relatable but some characteristics portrayed typical stereotypes.	Characters in the story were somewhat relatable, however portrayed characteristics  typical of stereotypes.	Characters in the story were relatable and portrayed characteristics  typical of stereotypes.
Illustrations	Illustrations in the story were relatable and did not portray typical stereotypes.	Illustrations in the story were relatable but some characteristics portrayed typical stereotypes.	Illustrations in the story were somewhat relatable, however portrayed characteristics  typical of stereotypes.	Illustrations in the story were not relatable and portrayed characteristics  typical of stereotypes.
Multicultural Aspects	Story provided accurate representations of  several cultures.	Story provided accurate representations of more than one culture.	Story provided accurate representation of only one culture.	Story did not provide accurate representations of  the culture discussed.
Historical Value	The story's historical references were accurate and did not convey a biased opinion of the event depicted.	The story's historical references were accurate, did convey some biased opinion of the event depicted.	The story's historical references were somewhat accurate, and did convey a biased opinion of the event depicted.	The story's historical references were not accurate, and conveyed a biased opinion of the event depicted.
Self and Social Identities	This book positively counteracts stereotypical messages based on gender, color, economic status, family structure, and/or abilities.	This book attempts to counteracts stereotypical messages based on gender, color, economic status, family structure, and/or abilities.	This book does not reinforce stereotypical messages based on gender, color, economic status, family structure, and/or abilities.	This book reinforces stereotypical messages based on gender, color, economic status, family structure, and/or abilities.
Language	This book did not contain any "loaded" words, and used alternatives to generic terms.	This book did not contain any "loaded" words, but did use some generic terms.	This book did not contain "loaded" words, however, consistently used generic terms.	This book did contain "loaded words, and consistently used generic terms.
Overall Rating	I would use this book in my future classroom and recommend it to other teachers.	I would try to use this book in my future classroom and might recommend it to other teachers.	If the occasion arose, I might read this book, but probably would not recommend it.	I would not use or recommend this book.

Overall Score: 29/32 

Side note:  The only thing I did not like about this book was that the English version was consistently above the Spanish version of the story.

Literary Elements: Repetition, call and response story structure, personification, similes 

Social Justice Elements:  Making the best out of a bad situation, strong family bonds, taking pride in one's heritage. 

Sample Lesson:  If I were doing a lesson with this book, I would definitely pair it with When the Shadbush Blooms and possible guacamole.  Using all of these books, I would have the children either interview their grandparent/older family friend and write about their stories, or I would have them write the recipe of a traditional family dish and the story behind why the dish was important.