Roseanne Greenfield Thong - Round Is a Tortilla

Grandmother. Grandmothers love to make a special stew called pozole on the weekends. Pozole is made with hominy (large kernels of corn soaked in lime water and dried), and often contains pork, chili, seasonings, and vegetables. Tuna. Bells. House. Square. Family. A mixture of mashed avocado, chopped onion, tomato, chili pepper, and seasoning, served as a dip for chips or in salads. Eggs. Musicians who stroll through the streets (or nowadays play in restaurants), dressed in fine suits with wide-brimmed hats, and who sing ballads accompanied by guitars, trumpets, and violins. Corn flour, eaten daily and used for Mexican foods like tamales (packets of filled, steamed dough) and tortillas. A flat or slightly hollowed piece of rock, used with a stone rolling pin called a mano. A flat or slightly hollowed piece of rock, used with a stone rolling pin called a mano.

Between the rock and the rolling pin, grain is crushed into meal.

Mexican-style ice-cream or frozen-fruit bars on sticks. Traditional fruit-bar flavors include mango, guava, tamarind and pineapple, and ice-cream flavors include vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and coconut. Public squares or marketplaces. A tortilla folded over a filling of hot, melted cheese. A Mexican hat made of straw or felt, with a pointed top and an extra-wide brim to shade the head, neck, and shoulders. A Mexican hat made of straw or felt, with a pointed top and an extra-wide brim to shade the head, neck, and shoulders.

The name comes from the Spanish word sombra, which means shade.

Dreams. A tortilla, sometimes folded, sometimes flat, piled with fillings like ground meat, cheese, and lettuce, and served hot. Large, round, flatbread pancakes, made from masa (corn flour dough) or wheat, and baked on a hot surface. (In Spain, tortillas are thick egg omelets fried with potatoes.) Windows. Every town and city in Mexico has a zcalo or main square, often filled with shady trees, gardens, benches, and fountains.

People young and old gather to chat, rest, look at artwork, and listen to bands and entertainers. Round are sombreros. Round is the moon. Round are the trumpets that blare out a tune. Round are campanas that chime and ring. Round are tortillas and tacos, too. Round are tortillas and tacos, too.

Round is a pot of abuelas stew. I can name more round things. Can you? Square are the letterswe know them well. Square is a board game to help us spell. Square are ventanas that give a view. Square is the park, and the zcalo. Square is the park, and the zcalo.

Square is a fountain from long ago. How many square things do you know? Rectangles are carts with bells that chime and cold paletas in summertime. Stone metates inside our casa help us grind our corn to masa. Rectangles are flags that fly above the scoreboard, way up high. How many rectangles do you spy? Triangles are crunchy chips for guacamole and other dips. Triangles sail on the breeze.

They line the shore and glide on seas. Sandas chilled in tubs of ice, quesadillas by the slice triangles can beat the heat. What other triangles can you eat? Oval is my favorite locket, a special pebble in my pocket. I find ovals at the store, huevos, olives, beans galore. Can you name a couple more? Stars for parties, stars for light, lining streets with colors bright. There are so many shapes wherever you go.

How many more shapes do you know? When ROSEANNE GREENFIELD THONG was four years old, her neighbor, Mrs. Leyva, offered her a homemade tortilla, and she has not stopped eating them since. As an adult, Roseanne traveled to Mexico and Guatemala, where she taught English, studied Spanish, and learned how to grind corn on metates to make her own homemade tortillas. JOHN PARRA is an award-winning illustrator, designer, teacher, and fine art painter whose work is avidly collected. Johns books have received starred reviews and have appeared on the Texas 2x2 Reading List. He has received the SCBWI Golden Kite Award for illustration, the International Latino Book Award for Best Childrens Book Interior Illustrations, and a Pura Belpr Illustrator Honor for Gracias/Thanks, written by Pat Mora.

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