Salsa Stories

Kirkus Review, 02/29/2000
Cleverly conceived, the vignettes in this collection of evocative, often touching Latin American short stories connect within a larger fictional narrative and feature a culinary delight (recipes included). While Carmen Teresa is busy in the kitchen doing something she loves'helping Mama prepare the festive a?o nuevo meal'a family friend presents her with a pretty journal to write in. Mama suggests that she use it to record anecdotes from the gathered family members. Each tells about a different holiday or custom from their growing years in various Latin American countries. Most of these stories carry a moral or are instructive in some way. The two best are the tender 'A Carpet for Holy Week,' in which a girl expresses her love for her grandfather through the creation of a ceremonial sawdust carpet, and 'Birthday Pinata,' which poignantly illuminates a sacrificing adult's understanding of a child's heart. Others, such as 'Aguinaldo' and 'At the Beach' are less successful, forfeiting story ingenuity for ethical instruction. Instead of recording the stories, Carmen Teresa decides to document the recipes for the food mentioned in them. Readers who wish to try the recipes should be advised that the ease of preparation varies and that most require at least a modicum of adult supervision. A great idea for a family or class project. (glossary) (Fiction. 9-12)