I Definitely Ate Too Much.

Too Many Tamales
Written by Gary Soto & Illustrated by Ed Martinez
Age Level: 4-8 Years
Published August 8, 1996

Maybe you should’ve asked first.

Tamales for Christmas dinner?! Yes, please. 😋 

This multicultural Christmas story (also available in Spanish!) is delightfully suspenseful and totally relatable. Maria feels very grown up this Christmas. Her mother has invited her into the kitchen to help her make the tamales for Christmas dinner, and before rolling up her sleeves to get cooking, she removes her diamond ring and places it on the counter. Against her better judgement, Maria slips it on when her mother isn’t looking and proceeds to knead the masa. Later on, Maria is horrified when she realizes that the ring slipped off while she was cooking, and panic ensues as Maria scrambles to fix her mistake. 

“Maria loved that ring. She loved how it sparkled, like their Christmas tree lights.”

I think we can all recall a time when we borrowed something without asking and it didn’t exactly go well. I get a huge kick out of the lively and expressive illustrations in the book, which take the reader along Maria’s emotional roller coaster. This book was also the perfect opportunity to talk to my son about how people from other cultures celebrate Christmas, resulting in him wistfully telling me that he wishes we made tamales for Christmas dinner instead of boring roast beef. Same here, buddy. Maybe we can start a new tradition.