May Your Life Be Deliciosa

by Michael Genhart, Loris Lora (Illustrator)

Overview

A delicious and fortifying picture book inspired by the author’s family, featuring the Mexican tradition of holiday tamale-making

A 2022 Pura Belpré Award Illustrator Honor Book

“What is the recipe?” I ask. Abuela laughs. “It is in my heart, Rosie. I use mis ojos, my eyes, to measure. Mis manos, my hands, to feel. Mi boca, my mouth, to taste. My abuela gave it to me, and I am giving it to you.” Each year on Christmas Eve, Rosie’s abuela, mamá, tía, sister, and cousins all gather together in Abuela’s kitchen to make tamales—cleaning corn husks, chopping onions and garlic, roasting chilis, kneading cornmeal dough, seasoning the filling, and folding it all—and tell stories. Rosie learns from her abuela not only how to make a delicious tamale, but how to make a delicious life, one filled with love, plenty of spice, and family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781951836221
Publisher:	Cameron Kids
Publication date:	09/14/2021
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	221,994
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 11.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD590L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Michael Genhart is an award-winning author of several children’s books and a clinical psychologist. He lives with his family in the Bay Area. This is his first book with Cameron Kids. Inspired by her Mexican upbringing, pop culture, and mid-century illustration and design, Loris Lora is a multidisciplinary artist, designer, and illustrator whose work has been featured in editorial and book publishing, toy and surface design, and in galleries around the world. She lives and works in Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Drawing upon their own Latinx family experiences, Genhart and Lora cook up a beautiful story of food and cultural identity, rooted in family recipes, storytelling, and togetherness."

Booklist

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Drawing upon their own Latinx family experiences, Genhart and Lora cook up a beautiful story of food and cultural identity, rooted in family recipes, storytelling, and togetherness."—Booklist

**STARRED REVIEW**
"The warmth of family love and support wafts enticingly through this homage to tradition."—Kirkus Reviews

"Colors, flowers, rooms filled with laughing people, and a flowing well-paced text combine in a mantra-like telling, as rewarding as the tamales themselves. A bilingual beauty that celebrates family across generations, and traditions that can be shared beyond the communal table."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

10/01/2021

PreS-Gr 3—In a gathering for Christmas, the narrator reveals the tamale-making that fits hand in glove with life lessons uttered by his abuela. The mostly English narration is full of in-context Spanish words, but when Abuela utters words such as "protection and security," the Spanish equivalents appear in large calligraphy as part of the art. Vibrant scenes show a Mexican family pitching in to tell stories, soak the husks, remove silks, add filling, and then fold and place the tamales in the pot to cook. The scent in the air is overwhelming, and anticipation grows, but the slow cooking teaches "patience," and soon the family is feasting on the fruits of their labor. Colors, flowers, rooms filled with laughing people, and a flowing well-paced text combine in a mantra-like telling, as rewarding as the tamales themselves. VERDICT A bilingual beauty that celebrates family across generations, and traditions that can be shared beyond the communal table.—Kimberly Olson Fakih, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

★ 2021-08-11
The aroma of steamy corn deliciousness wraps Abuela’s home in incredible warmth and anticipation.

Alongside mounds of masa, earthy roasted chiles, and seasoned meat, the entire family forms an assembly line of cooperation and laughter. Family stories are shared and passed down to the kids, along with Abuela’s own unique way of creating her tamales. Each step carries a special message of encouragement: “may you always be flexible”; “may you always stand tall and proud”; “may you have lots and lots of hugs.” The tamales are wrapped in their pliable husks stuffed with dreams, hope, and love—and meat and chiles. As they steam, the family waits with paciencia—patience. Music, singing, and storytelling reverberate within the walls of Abuela’s home. Finally, the tamales are done. The savory Christmas Eve gifts are unwrapped one by one, and Abuela proclaims as the tamales disappear, “May your life be delicious!” Genhart’s loving tribute to the women of his Mexican American family is heartfelt and sincere. His mother is revealed in the author’s note to be the nieta (granddaughter) of the story, and she continues the family legacy at the book’s end with a new tamalada: “You start with una hoja….” The semibilingual text carries Lora’s illustrations, as they convey organized chaos while flickering between the vibrant colors of Christmas present and gray-toned memories of the past.

The warmth of family love and support wafts enticingly through this homage to tradition. (illustrator’s note) (Picture book. 5-10)

Kirkus Reviews