Las Empanadas Que Hacia la Abuela

Summary of Book

In this whimsical look at the making of empanadas, popular children's author Gonzalez Bertrand serves up the festive fun of a family's effort to concoct the delicious pastries. In the tradition of popular rhymes like "The Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly," the laughter rises from page to page. Alex Pardo de Lange fills the story with offbeat illustrations of blankets of dough and dancing rolling pins. With an easy empanada recipe included in the back of the book, this will be a literary delicacy for the whole family and will give many readers their first taste of a celebrated Latino tradition.

Author Biography

Diane Gonzales Bertrand has written stories and poems since childhood, but never saw books that connected to her own Mexican-American heritage. Fifteen years ago she found Arte Publico Press, a Houston publisher who welcomed her familia-friendly adult novels like Sweet Fifteen, Lessons of the Game, and Close to the Heart. Then Diane wrote the children's novel Alicia's Treasure and two award-winning novels for middle school students Trino's Choice, and Trino's Time.

Illustrator Biography

Juana Martinez-Neal is the Peruvian-born daughter and granddaughter of painters. Her debut as an author-illustrator, Alma and How She Got Her Name, was awarded a Caldecott Honor and was published in Spanish as Alma y cómo obtuvo su nombre. She also illustrated La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya, for which she won a Pura Belpré Illustrator Award, and Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard, which won a Robert F. Sibert Medal. Juana Martinez-Neal lives in Connecticut with her family. Visit her online at www.juanamartinezneal.com.