Description
When our father cooks, tacos become magic tricks, Diane Gonzales Bertrand writes in the title poem of this collection for young people. Like a magic wand, / he stirs circles through the frying pan, / Like a magic cape, he wraps a tortilla / around our wishes. In her introduction, A Taste for Poetry, she exhorts adults to introduce kids to verse. By helping them discover moments and memories through words, she says tiny roots of curiosity, / tender wings of knowledge will grow.
Gonzales Bertrand writes about everyday occurrences and feelings that children will recognize. In Blankie, a blanket sewn before the girl s birth kept her safe and warm for years. She can t take it to school now, but at home she still wraps it around herself, even though it won t / cover my toes and my shoulders at the same time. There s also an ode to chanclas, or flip-flops, Narrow rubber soles / protect my bare feet / from hot sidewalks. They even clap for her when she walks!
The importance of family shines through in pieces such as My Little Sister, Fishing with My Uncle Charlie, Abuelita s Kitchen Table and Tía Maria s Love. In The Sailor of Woodlawn Lake, she remembers her brother s determination to create boats that would stay afloat. I would love to say / he finally sailed across Woodlawn Lake, / but each raft slowly sank, / a few at the shore, one or two in the middle. The poems in this collection will encourage children ages 8-12 to consider writing odes to the important people and places in their own lives.
