Reviews for Big Moon Tortilla

The average rating for Big Moon Tortilla based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-10-09 00:00:00 Alessandro De Luca Marta is an everyday young student whose main priority is her school work. She know that her job as a student is an important one and that her homework must be done in order to go help her abuela make tortillas. However, as she rushes to finish her last assignments, her homework gets blown out the window and her glasses break. Marta is devastate and does not know how she will explain her missing work to her teacher. She is lucky that her abuela is there to comfort her and give her words of wisdom. Cowly does a very good job of showing the reader that it is okay to make mistakes. Marta is devastated that she had made multiple mistakes and was now unable to help her grandmother make tortillas, but her grandmother's wisdom alleviates the distress. The use of similes and metaphors in abuela's speech really resonates with the reader. Her comparisons to different animals that all have different characteristics compare to Marta and her situation. She hast decide if she wants soar like an eagle or become a rock and not do anything. The figurative language in the story really adds to the overall storyline and develop abuela as a character. Cowly molds abuela to fit into the stereotypical "wise old woman" role through the speech she gives to Marta. The readers can clearly see how much abuela cares about Marta and how she will do anything to help her. Supplementing the text, Dyanne Strongbow illustrates the story and adds vivid scenes to mirror the situations. Bright oranges and reds are used to depict the setting. My favorite part of the illustrations for the sunsets that each animal had as a backdrop to their story. Strongbow did a nice Jon of depicting Marta's small village and making it feel very much like home for the characters. Overall Joy Cowly's book "Big Moon Tortilla " is a story that would make the reader feel very relieved that someone else makes mistakes. This book would make students feel that they are not alone.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-02-22 00:00:00 Amber Rizzo The book begins with a young Marta Enos, who had just finished her many pages of homework. She is struck by the delicious smell of Grandmother's tortillas, which proves to be a terrible distraction. She absentmindedly knocks her table over, forcing her homework out the open window. She runs after it, but the village dogs beat her to it. Not only that, but she accidentally breaks her glasses! She rushes to her Grandmother, who comforts the grieving child. She tells her a story, consisting of options one can choose from when facing adversity. She could be like a tree, looking high up at different perspectives. She could be like a rock, sitting and doing nothing. She could be like a mountain lion, prepared to fight. The final option was to be like an eagle, flying above all, realizing just how small everything is and how little seemingly big issues matter. Marta makes a choice, in that instant. Marta is a young Native American girl. She is illustrated with dark hair and tan skin. She appears to be very dedicated to her schooling because losing her homework affected her deeply. These details are important to the plot, in a cultural and personal aspect. I enjoyed the fact that this book gave representation to Native American culture. The wisdom of elders is highly cherished and respected, and that is shown. Furthermore, the artwork was expressive, making it clear how the characters felt. Overall, the quality of the book was amazing. I remember loving it as a child. I was able to recognize some literary and design elements. Color and tone worked together very smoothly: the color of the art was able to reflect on the tone used in the text. Additionally, I noticed that unity and setting worked together. The setting told in the text agreed with the setting depicted in the artwork. The text was actually enhanced by holistic artwork, showing a main idea.