Nacho's Nachos

The Story Behind the World's Favorite Snack 

Lee & Low Books

(pub. 8.11.2020) 

32 pages

A True Tale with

A Cherry On Top   

A uthor: Sandra Nickel
       and illustrator:  Oliver Dominguez

 
C haracter:  Ignacio (Nacho) Anaya

O verview:

       

    "Nachos- so crunchy, so cheesy, so spicy - so delicious! Where did they come from?

    Meet Ignacio (Nacho) Anaya. As a boy, he loved to eat and cook. When he grew up, he worked in restaurants, including the Victory Club, a popular eatery near the Mexico-United States border.

    Late one afternoon in 1940, a regular customer stopped by  with some friends. She wanted a snack - something new, something different. Nacho rushed to the kitchen and improvised with the ingredients on hand. In those inspired moments, Nacho made food history!"

T antalizing taste: 

     "As soon as Nacho arrived at work the next day, waiters crowded around him. They wanted to know what Nacho's Special was. Customers had been asking for it since the night before.

     Nacho headed straight into the kitchen and started cooking."

And something more:  The author of Nacho's Nachos, Sandra Nickel, kindly shared with me that "a lot of people ask me if I was surprised by anything I discovered when making the book. I loved learning that Nacho is a nickname for Ignacio and that the original nachos were individually hand made, not piled high with toppings. I also loved discovering that this year is the 80th anniversary of the invention and that Piedras Negras has a three-day Nacho Fest every year, where they make the World's Biggest Nacho. But my all-time favorite surprise was finding the archived newspaper articles for which Ignacio Anaya was interviewed. Nothing beats having Nacho's very own version of the story to pass on to kids!" 

I agree, Sandra!

Dream Builder

The Story of Architect
Philip Freelon

Lee & Low Books
(pub. 1.14.2020) 
40 pages

A True Tale with

A Cherry On Top   

A uthor:  Kelly Starling Lyons
      and illustrator:  Laura Freeman

 
C haracter: Philip Freelon

O verview: 
    
 "You've seen the building. Now meet the man whose life went into it.

Philip Freelon's grandfather was an acclaimed painter of the Harlem Renaissance. His father was a successful businessman who attended the 1963 March on Washington. When Phil decided to attend architecture school, he created his own focus on African American and Islamic designers. He later chose not to build casinos or prisons, instead concentrating on schools, libraries, and museums--buildings that connect people with heritage and fill hearts with joy. And in 2009, Phil's team won a commission that let him use his personal history in service to the country's: the extraordinary Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture."

T antalizing taste: 
     "In Phil Freelon's world, art breathes dreams to life.
     Everywhere he looks around his Philadelphia home, paintings and drawings greet him from the walls. Phil listens to his parents discuss artists at the dinner table. He watches his big sister splatter canvases with creativity. He plays basketball with his buddies and carries a sketchbook around his neighborhood. Buildings, roses, people passing on the street: Phil sees them all and draws clear and strong.

And something more: Dream Builder includes an Afterword written by Philip Freelon and he explains his experience of designing the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture: "Coming of age during the civil rights movement, I felt compelled to contribute in some way to the struggle for social justice. As my career as an architect evolved, I continually sought opportunities to bring my design skills into alignment with my desire to make positive contributions to my community and beyond...
     My involvement with this amazing project was an honor and a privilege - and the pinnacle of my career. The decades-long journey leading up to the museum's opening included significant contributions from countless individuals and organizations."

         Kelly Starling Lyons writes in her Author's Note: "Over a series of meetings, I interviewed [Phil Freelon] and his wonderful wife, Grammy-nominated jazz singer and composer Nnenna Freelon, in their home... With every project, Phil showed all of us how to dream bigger and bolder. He was a man of integrity, talent, and vision. I mourned with people around the nation when Phil passed away in July 2019 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)... This book is a tribute to Phil and all of the dream builders around the world."

Rise!

From Caged Bird to Poet
of the People,

Maya Angelou

Lee & Low Books
(pub. 8.13.2019) 
48 pages

A True Tale with

A Cherry On Top   

A uthor: Bethany Hegedus
and illustrator: Tonya Engel

 
C haracter: Maya Angelou

O verview: 
     "Maya Angelou's life was defined by transformation and perseverance. From her early days as a passionate reader in Arkansas, through her work as a freedom fighter with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, to her triumphant rise as a post of the people, Maya Angelou did more than survive. She thrived, and along the way she became an inspiration to millions. 
     In honor of the 50th anniversary of Angelou's classic I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and with a foreword by her grandson Colin Johnson, Rise! celebrates the luminous life, spirit, and legacy of a truly phenomenal woman."

T antalizing taste: 
"The sights, sounds, and smells of San Francisco 
   delight Maya.
She floats through the fog,
   a cocoon of creativity that blankets the city.
Maya's love of language now moves within her,
   rhythm, rhyme,
   meter as music.
Before long, Maya earns a scholarship
   to the California Labor School.
There she dons black tights
   and learns to occupy space
   with her long limbs.
Maya the dancer,
   the performer,
        is born."

And something more: The Foreword by Colin Johnson, Maya Angelou's grandson, states that as my grandmother "moved past the pains of her own childhood and managed that pain, she came to believe: 'My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.'" And Bethany Hegedus, the author of Rise! and owner of The Writing Barn in Austin, Texas, is someone who also shares a powerful message: "What I learned after surviving 9/11 and during the 12 years it took for Grandfather Gandhi [her first children's biography] to be published was to keep being creative, believe in your vision, be resilient, and believe in the power of story to heal."

Ira's Shakespeare Dream

Lee & Low Books
(published 8.15.2015)
40 pages

A True Tale
with A Cherry On Top 

A uthor: Glenda Armand
and Illustrator: Floyd Cooper

C haracter: Ira Aldridge
                 
O verview from book flap:

"For as long as he could remember, Ira Aldridge dreamed of performing the famous plays of William Shakespeare. Ira spent every chance he got at the theater, memorizing the actors' lines and movements. He knew he could be a great Shakespearean actor if only given the chance. But in the early 1800s in New York City, options for black actor were mostly limited to musical numbers.

Determined to pursue his dream, Ira set off to England, the land of Shakespeare. He soon encountered the same roadblocks and discrimination he faced back home...[but] through hard work and perseverance... the young man with a dream became one of the most celebrated Shakespearean actors in the world. 

Ira's Shakespeare Dream is a captivating tribute to the life of Ira Aldridge, and to the enduring magic of Shakespeare's works to inspire people of all backgrounds."

T antalizing taste:

     "Even as Ira's dream was coming true, he never forgot about his people back home and the nightmare off slavery. Sometimes, at the close of a performance, Ira came out of character and sat on the edge of the stage.
     He preached to the audience about the injustice of slavery. He told them that, although he was born free, he had once come close to being sold into slavery. Audiences were moved as Ira recounted for them the cruelties had had witnessed."  

and something more:  Last weekend at the SCBWI conference in Los Angeles, I enjoyed meeting Glenda Armand, the author of Ira's Shakespeare Dream. She "is passionate about sharing accounts of little-known African American trailblazers. Her hope is that these stories will inspire new generations of young dreamers to persevere despite any obstacles they may face."  
     The book's Afterword explains that "perhaps the greatest honor" Ira received is shown on "a bronze plaque inscribed with his name at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, at Stratford-upon-Avon, England, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Ira Frederick Aldridge is the only African American among the thirty-three actors to have received this recognition."

As Fast As Words Could Fly

This post joins other Nonfiction Monday blogs

hosted today by Ms. Yingling Reads

and joins It's Monday!

What are you reading?

at Teacher Mentor Texts

Lee & Low Books
(pub. 4.2013) 32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Pamela M. Tuck

     and Illustrator:  Eric Velasquez

C haracter: Mason Steele (fictional character inspired by real-life experiences of the author's father, Moses Teel Jr)

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "Young Mason Steele takes pride in turning his father's excited ramblings about the latest civil rights incidents into handwritten business letters. One day Pa comes home with a gift from his civil rights group: a typewriter. Thrilled with the present, Mason spends all his spare time teaching himself to type. Soon he knows where every letter on the keyboard is located.
        When the civil rights group wins a school desegregation case, Mason learns that now he will be attending a formerly all-white high school. Despite his fears and injustice from the students and faculty, Mason perseveres [and] decides to take a stand, using his skills to triumph over prejudice and break racial barriers."

T antalizing taste: 

    "'Mason Steel, from Belvoir High, has broken all previous records with a typing speed of sixty-five words per minute.'
     No one cheered. Mason just stared straight ahead.
     Mr. Bullock accepted the typing championship plaque for Belvoir High. Not a single person in the audiencd applauded.
    Mason received nothing...
    'Why in the world did you choose a manual typewriter? [instead of an electric one which all the other students in the competition used]'
    Mason cleared his throat. 'Cause it reminds me of where I come from, sir.'"

and something more: I was very pleased to be asked by Lee & Low Books if I would like to feature AS FAST AS WORDS COULD FLY on my blog. Although it's not a nonfiction picture book biography, I feel this new terrific picture book fits within the "something more" category of my blog.  I believe stories inspired by true events, especially those based on stories of people close to us, can be as rich and inspiring as nonfiction biographies. 
      I was touched by Pamela M. Tuck's explanation of the genesis of this book, as she explains on her website: 

        "The inspiration to turn a snippet of my father’s story into a picture book was initiated by my husband, Joel. In listening to my father tell his story over and over, his determination to excel always overshadowed his oppositions. Although he mentioned his fears and his feelings of isolation, his confidence kept him from wavering. He held his own personal pep rally, by telling himself, “I can do this.” At first, I didn’t think I could give my father’s story justice as a picture book, and my husband became my personal cheerleader by telling me, “You can do it.” It’s ironic how the same willpower that enabled my father to surpass his doubts, also allowed me to surpass mine."

         I certainly have been blessed by many cheerleaders in my life and I truly cherish each and every one of them. Surpassing one's doubts, especially in the face of discrimination as Pamela M. Tuck's father and countless others did, is to be credited. AS FAST AS WORDS COULD FLY is just the type of book that will not only teach children about the injustices of the 1960's in the United States, but will also inspire children to believe in themselves to overcome life's challenges and obstacles.