Mamá Graciela’s Secret
Publication date: October 10, 2017
Illustrated by Sheila Fein
MacLaren-Cochrane Publishing
www.maclaren-cochranepublishing.com
36 pages, 3-7 year olds
Reading guide at: www.MayrasSecretBookcase.com
Description:
Mamá Graciela’s TENDER, CRUNCHY, SPICY bacalaítos fritos are the best in town...
Local customers (including stray cats!) come from all over the island to enjoy her secret recipe. But when the Inspector discovers that Mamá secretly caters to so many cats and he threatens to close her tiny restaurant, Mamá must come up with a plan to save it—and all of the animals she loves.
Peek Inside:
My Review:
Mamá Graciela’s Secret is a cute picture book about a grandmotherly woman who makes the best bacalaítos fritos (cod fritters) in town. She loves cooking, but she loves her cats even more. She takes in stray cats and doesn't have the heart to turn any away. The health inspector tells her that she has to get rid of the cats or close her little restaurant.
The story's main theme is an entrepreneurial one, which is unusual for a children's picture book, but it's done well and is easy to understand. Amanda and I both enjoyed the story. It has the right amount of humor and tension for young listeners. The solution that Mamá Graciela comes up with is out of the box and gives the story a happy ending.
The story's main theme is an entrepreneurial one, which is unusual for a children's picture book, but it's done well and is easy to understand. Amanda and I both enjoyed the story. It has the right amount of humor and tension for young listeners. The solution that Mamá Graciela comes up with is out of the box and gives the story a happy ending.
About the author:
Mayra Calvani writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults and has authored over a dozen books, some of which have won awards. Her children's picture book, Frederico the Mouse Violinist was a finalist in the 2011 International Book Awards; her anthology Latina Authors and Their Muses was a First Place winner at the 2016 International Latino Book Awards; her nonfiction book, The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, was a Foreword Best Book of the Year winner. Her stories, reviews, interviews and articles have appeared on numerous publications like The Writer, Writer's Journal, Multicultural Review, Bloomsbury Review, and others.
She lives in Belgium with her husband of 30+ years, two wonderful kids, and her three beloved pets. When she's not writing, editing, reading or reviewing, she enjoys walking with her dog, traveling, and spending time with her family. www.MayrasSecretBookcase.com
About the illustrator:
Born in Queens, New York and living in Los Angeles since 1987, Sheila Fein has always been inspired by the changing world around her. Earning her BA in Design from Buffalo State College of New York, her concentration was on drawing, painting, printmaking, and photography. Sheila's education as an artist has taken her everywhere from Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia to Bath University in England. Today, Sheila Fein runs two figurative workshops, Imaginings Sketch in LA and People Sketchers in Thousand Oaks. She has been featured in numerous collections, magazines, books, solo and group exhibitions. Her paintings and drawings reside in public and private collections. Sheila loves to make the imagination of others a reality and has done so through her commissioned Fein Fantasy Portraits and Interactive Paintings. In addition to being a fine artist Sheila works as an illustrator. She just completed the book "Mama Graciela's Secret" for Maclaren-Cochrane Publishing.
Book info:
ISBN:
HC 978-1-365-86153-6
SC 978-1-365-86155-0
ISBN Dyslexic Font Version:
DY HC 978-1-365-86154-3 DY SC 978-1-365-86156-7
This book also has version printed in the Dyslexic font, the typeface for people with dyslexia. Go to www.dyslexiefont.com to find out more about the typeface.
Disclosure: We received a free digital copy of this book and this is our honest review.
