Round Is a Tortilla by Roseanne Greenfield Thong

John Parra is an award-winning illustrator,

ROUND is a TORTILLA

designer, teacher, and fine art painter whose work is avidly collected. John’s books have received starred reviews and have appeared on the Texas 2x2 Reading List. He has received the SCBWI Golden Kite Award for illustration, the 2006 International Latino Book Award for Best Children’s Book Interior Illustrations, and the 2010 Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Award for Gracias/Thanks, written by Pat Mora. Find out more about John at JohnParraArt.com

U N O D R is a

I T L R L A O T A Book of Shapes

By Roseanne Greenfield Thong Illustrated by John Parra

: D D TE E N H IZ IO IG R T R HO BU PY T I O U TR C T A IS O D N R FO

THONG / PARRA

When Roseanne Greenfield Thong was four years old, her neighbor, Mrs. Leyva, offered her a homemade tortilla, and she has not stopped eating them since. As an adult, Roseanne traveled to Mexico and Guatemala, where she taught English, studied Spanish, and learned how to grind corn on metates to make her own homemade tortillas.

Round are tortillas and tacos, too Round is a bowl of abuela’s stew.

In this lively picture book, a little girl discovers a world of shapes all around her: Rectangles are ice-cream carts and stone metates, triangles are slices of watermelon and quesadillas. Many of the featured objects are Latino in origin, but all are universal in appeal. With rich, boisterous illustrations, a fun-toread rhyming text, and an informative glossary, this playful concept book will reinforce the shapes found in every child’s day!

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$16.99 U.S./£xx.xx U.K.

Jacket illustrations © 2013 by John Parra.

Manufactured in China.

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To my aunts Irma, Amelia, Adela, Gloria, Julia, Yolanda, and Grace, for all those wonderful winter tamales and summer barbeque memories —J. P.

: D D TE E N H IZ IO IG R T R HO BU PY T I O U TR C T A IS O D N R FO

To Maya, a true tortilla fan, and to friends old and new, who love large, round, floppy, flappy, slightly singed, just-off-the-stovetop tortillas —R. G. T.

U N O D R sa

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Text © 2013 by Roseanne Greenfield Thong.

Illustrations © 2013 by John Parra.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available Book design by Eloise Leigh.

Typeset in Brandon Grotesque.

The illustrations in this book were rendered in paint.

Manufactured in China.

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 Chronicle Books LLC 680 Second Street, San Francisco, California 94107 www.chroniclekids.com

I T L R L A O T A Book of Shapes

By Roseanne Greenfield Thong Illustrated by John Parra

: D D TE E N H IZ IO IG R T R HO BU PY T I O U TR C T A IS O D N R FO

Round are sombreros.

Round is the moon.

Round are the trumpets that blare out a tune.

Round are campanas that chime and ring.

: D D TE E N H IZ IO IG R T R HO BU PY T I O U TR C T A IS O D N R FO

Round are the nests where swallows sing.

: D D TE E N H IZ IO IG R T R HO BU PY T I O U TR C T A IS O D N R FO

Round are tortillas and tacos, too.

Round is a pot of abuela’s stew.

I can name more round things. Can you?

: D D TE E N H IZ IO IG R T R HO BU PY T I O U TR C T A IS O D N R FO

Square are the letters—we know them well.

Square is a board game to help us spell.

: D D TE E N H IZ IO IG R T R HO BU PY T I O U TR C T A IS O D N R FO

GLOSSARY ABUELA: Grandmother.

AtĂşn: Tuna.

Campanas: Bells. Large campanas hang in church towers throughout South and Central America, and chime before celebrations and church services to let worshipers know that it’s time to start.

Casa: House.

Cuadrado: Square.

Familia: Family.

Guacamole: A mixture of mashed avocado, chopped onion, tomato, chili pepper, and seasoning, served as a dip for chips or in salads.

Abuela's stew (Pozole): Grandmothers love to make a special stew called pozole on the weekends. Pozole is made with hominy (large kernels of corn soaked in lime water and dried), and often contains pork, chili, seasonings, and vegetables.

Huevos: Eggs.

Mariachis: Musicians who stroll through the streets (or now a days play in restaurants), dressed in fine suits with wide-brimmed hats, and who sing ballads accompanied by guitars, trumpets, and violins.

Masa: Cornflour, eaten daily and used for Mexican foods like tamales (packets of filled, steamed dough) and tortillas.

Metate: A flat or slightly hollowed piece of rock, used with a stone rolling pin called a mano. Between the rock and the rolling pin, grain becomes into to meal.

: D D TE E N H IZ IO IG R T R HO BU PY T I O U TR C T A IS O D N R FO

Paletas: Mexican-style ice-cream or frozen-fruit bars on sticks.

Traditional fruit bar flavors include mango, guava, tamarind and pineapple, and ice-cream flavors include vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and coconut.

Taco: A tortilla, sometimes folded, sometimes flat, piled with fillings like ground meat, cheese, and lettuce, and served hot.

Plazas: Public squares or marketplaces.

Tortillas: Large, round flatbread pancakes, made from masa (cornflour dough) or wheat, and baked on a hot surface. (In Spain, tortillas are thick egg omelets fried with potatos.)

Quesadilla: A tortilla folded over a filling of hot, melted cheese.

Ventanas: Windows.

SandÍa: Watermelon.

Zócalo: Every town and city in Mexico has a zócalo or main square, often filled with shady trees, gardens, benches, and fountains. People young and old gather to chat, rest, look at artwork, and listen to bands and entertainers.

Sombrero: A Mexican hat made of straw or felt, with a pointed top and an extra-wide brim to shade the head, neck, and shoulders.

The name comes from the Spanish word sombra, which means shade.

Sueños: Dreams.