Tamales For Christmas

Ages 4 to 8, Grades P to 3

Before the first Christmas light is strung, Grandma is hard at work, making thousands of tamales to sell so she can buy gifts for her family! This heartwarming tale, based on a true story, explores a grandmother's boundless generosity, and the irresistible magic of tamales.

When the weather changes, but way before the Christmas tree is decorated, Grandma begins her preparations. With so many children and grandchildren in her family, she finds a way to put gifts under the tree-- she sells as many tamales as she can! Masa in one hand, corn husks in the other, Grandma’s just getting started. 15 dozen tamales. As Halloween passes, and Thanksgiving, Grandma is still toiling away in the kitchen: 150 dozen tamales, 700 dozen tamales, 850 dozen tamales. When it’s time to string the lights for Christmas, she’s inching closer to 1000 dozen tamales! Enough to give some to those in need and enough to sell to earn money for Christmas gifts.

Based on the author’s own grandmother, who was the heart of the familia, here is a warm story about Christmas, generosity, and, yes, tamales.

About the Author

Stephen Briseño is the author of The Notebook Keeper, which received the Pura Belpre Author Honor Award. He has taught middle school English for 15 years, and writes, reads, and drinks a ton of coffee with his wife and daughter in San Antonio, TX.

Author Residence: San Antonio, TX

Sonia Sánchez paints with both traditional and digital brushes using layers of texture in her work to evoke emotion and movement. Her debut picture book, Here I Am, received two starred reviews and was nominated for the Eisner Award in the category of Best Painter interior art. She is also the illustrator of Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away by Meg Medina, the 2020 Jumpstart Read for the Record Selection. Sonia’s art has been selected for the prestigious Society of Illustrators Original Art Show three times. She lives with her husband, son, and a sleepyhead cat in a blue house near the Mediterranean Sea.