too many tamales. gary soto. (82)

my uncle boon used to share a joke that went like this:

q: why do mexicans have tamales on christmas?

a: so they could have something to unwrap!

no exactly pc but hilarious nonetheless and in that case the epitome of my uncle boon.

it's only been recently that i have equated christmas time with tamale time! i never realized this as a kid. though i didn't like tamales as a kid so that could be the reason for my ignorance. however now i am a tamale fanatic and look forward to christmas because it means an abundance of tamales, it means tamales for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! and seriously they are little bundles of joy.

since it is christmas time and i love tamales, i decided to check out "too many tamales". i hadn't read the book before but i think i saw it on reading rainbow.

"too many tamales" is the story of a girl maria who loses her mom's diamond ring in the mass while tamale making. she discovered the lost after the tamales were made so she and her cousins than eat the tamales trying to find it. does maria find the ring? if you want to know than you should check this book out!

so the story premise is cute but the storyline is kinda weak. first of all, the title, its blasphemous! there is no such thing as too many tamales. second, there is no way that any family would not notice that the kids were eating all of the tamales. if this happened in my house, i would have been called out for being a porker and scolded for being greedy. third, the kids ate like 6 tamales a piece and complained that it was too much. again, maybe i had a big appetite but 6 tamales would be nothing for the kid version of me. it's definitely nothing for the adult version of me.

this aside, it is a great story and especially great because it captures an important christmas tradition, tamale making. and well of course, tamale eating!

ps its things like this that make me grateful i grew up in delano.