Review (PDF)

The Day It Snowed Tortillas / El Dia Que Nevaron Tortillas, Folktales Told In Spanish And English

Kids of all ages are always asking Joe Hayes, "How can it snow tortillas?" Well, now they’ll know where to find the answer—at long last, Joe’s signature book The Day It Snowed Tortillas is appearing in this new bilingual edition. Bloomsbury Review listed the original English-only edition as one of their fifteen all-time favorite children’s books. Our bilingual edition has all the original stories as they have evolved in the last twenty years of Joe’s storytelling. It also has new illustrations by award-winning artist Antonio Castro. Storytellers have been telling these stories in the villages of New Mexico since the Spanish first came to the New World over four hundred years ago, but Joe always adds his own nuances for modern audiences. The tales are full of magic and fun. In the title story, for instance, a very clever woman saves her silly husband from a band of robbers. She makes the old man believe it snowed tortillas during the night! In another story, a young boy gladly gives up all of his wages for good advice. His parents think he is a fool, but the good advice leads to wealth and a royal marriage. The enchantment continues in story after story—a clever thief tricks a king for his kingdom and a prince finds his beloved in a house full of wicked step-sisters. And of course, we listen again to the ancient tale of the weeping woman, La Llorona, who still searches for her drowned children along the riverbanks.Joe Hayes is one of America’s premier storytellers. He is especially recognized for his bilingual telling of stories from the Hispanic culture of northern New Mexico. Joe lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico and travels extensively throughout the United States, visiting schools and storytelling festivals.

Paperback: 144 pages

Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press; 1 edition (October 1, 2003)

Language: English, Spanish

ISBN-10: 0938317768

ISBN-13: 978-0938317760

Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.4 x 8.9 inches

Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #54,961 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #12 in Books > Libros en español > No-Ficción > Ciencias Sociales #56 in Books > Libros en español > Infantil y juvenil > Gente y Lugares #57 in Books > Children's Books > Geography & Cultures > Multicultural Stories > Hispanic & Latino

Age Range: 10 - 12 years

Grade Level: 4 - 6

This book is one of a limited number of dual language stories that I've found. My friend in Guatemala helps me with Spanish, and I help him with English. It works for us to have materials that are set up this way. We prefer dialogue, but conversational books in both languages are even harder to find. "The Day It Snowed Tortillas" has simple folktales that are not too difficult for us as intermediate level learners. While the stories are simple, they are not too childish. If you are trying to learn English or Spanish on your own, then having the translation right on the adjacent page makes understanding easy. However, the book is intended for a "Middle Reader" or "Young Adult," and is not meant as a beginning reader. It's a very good resource.

I am a third grade teacher and purchased this book as a read aloud for my class. The first story, The Day It Snowed Tortillas, is engaging for the kids. Other stories contained some content that I was uncomfortable reading to the students. Some stories included drunk characters, or "stupid" charachters that were taken advantage of. It is probably more appropriate for a bit older students.

The only way these stories could be better is if Hayes could tell them to you personally. All children, but especially those from the American southwest, will appreciate having a collection of these oft-told tales. Get ready to laugh about the day it snowed tortillas and get shivers when the wind's moans down by the ditch sound like those of a woman.

I teach a dual language class and my students LOVE for me to choose a story and read it to them. Many of the stores have lessons within them. I highly recommend it!

I had this book when I was just a child myself. I bought it so that I could read it to my daughter. She's probably still a bit young for it, but I really enjoy reading it with her. Since they are mostly latino fokelore stories, they are different from the fairy tales she's typically used to. I think the fact that I remember reading it over 20 years ago speaks volumes.

I use this book to teach English to my Hispanic ESL students. The familiarity and humor in the stories encourages students to read them over and over in both English and Spanish. A great teaching tool, also, for students who want to learn Spanish. I love this book!

My friend was delighted with this gift, and tells me it is the most entertaining way to learn Spanish.

I purchased this book to help me learn spanish. And I really believe it's working. My spanish is very basic, however as I read through this book I'm less and less reliant on the translation or at least correct in my interpretation. This is a book of clever/cute short spanish tales. Side by Side in English and in Spanish. How the story would be told in Spanish and how the story would be told in English. I recommend it to anyone trying to use reading to learn a language.

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