Antes de que se encienda la primera luz navideña, Abuela está en la cocina, preparando miles de tamales para asegurar regalos para su familia. Este cuento conmovedor, basado en una historia real, explora la generosidad ilimitada de una abuela y la irresistible magia de los tamales.

Cuando llega el frío, pero mucho antes de que se decore el árbol de Navidad, la abuela se prepara. Con tantos hijos y nietos en su familia, encuentra una manera de poner regalos debajo del árbol: ¡vendiendo tamales!

Con masa en una mano y hojas de maíz en la otra, la abuela comienza. 15 tamales. Cuando pasa Halloween y el Día de Acción de Gracias, la abuela sigue trabajando duro: 150 tamales, 700 tamales, 850 tamales. Cuando llega el momento de colocar las luces, ¡ha hecho casi mil tamales! Lo suficiente para ayudar a los necesitados y además llenar el árbol con regalos para sus seres queridos.

     Basada en la propia abuela del autor, quien era el corazón de la familia, esta es una cálida historia sobre la Navidad, la generosidad y, sí, los tamales.

Before the first Christmas light is strung, Grandma is hard at work, making thousands of tamales to ensure gifts for her family. This heartwarming tale, based on a true story, explores a grandmother's boundless generosity, and the irresistible magic of tamales.

When the weather changes, but way before the Christmas tree is decorated, Grandma prepares. With so many children and grandchildren in her family, she finds a way to put gifts under the tree-- she sells as many tamales as she can! Masa in one hand, corn husks in the other, Grandma’s just getting started. 15 tamales. As Halloween passes, and Thanksgiving, Grandma is still toiling away in the kitchen: 150 tamales, 700 tamales, 850 tamales. When it’s time to string the lights for Christmas, she’s inching closer to 1000 tamales! Enough to give to those in need and pack the tree with gifts for her loved ones.

Based on the author’s own grandmother, who was the heart of the familia, here is a warm story about Christmas, generosity, and, yes, tamales.
Stephen Briseño is the author of The Notebook Keeper, which received the Pura Belpre Author Honor Award. He has taught middle school English for 15 years, and writes, reads, and drinks a ton of coffee with his wife and daughter in San Antonio, TX. View titles by Stephen Briseño
SONIA SÁNCHEZ paints with both traditional and digital brushes using layers of texture in her work to evoke emotion and movement. Her debut picture book, Here I Am, received two starred reviews and was nominated for the Eisner Award in the category of Best Painter interior art. She is also the illustrator of Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away by Meg Medina, the 2020 Jumpstart Read for the Record Selection. Sonia’s art has been selected for the prestigious Society of Illustrators Original Art Show three times. She lives with her husband, son, and a sleepyhead cat in a blue house near the Mediterranean Sea. View titles by Sonia Sánchez

About

Antes de que se encienda la primera luz navideña, Abuela está en la cocina, preparando miles de tamales para asegurar regalos para su familia. Este cuento conmovedor, basado en una historia real, explora la generosidad ilimitada de una abuela y la irresistible magia de los tamales.

Cuando llega el frío, pero mucho antes de que se decore el árbol de Navidad, la abuela se prepara. Con tantos hijos y nietos en su familia, encuentra una manera de poner regalos debajo del árbol: ¡vendiendo tamales!

Con masa en una mano y hojas de maíz en la otra, la abuela comienza. 15 tamales. Cuando pasa Halloween y el Día de Acción de Gracias, la abuela sigue trabajando duro: 150 tamales, 700 tamales, 850 tamales. Cuando llega el momento de colocar las luces, ¡ha hecho casi mil tamales! Lo suficiente para ayudar a los necesitados y además llenar el árbol con regalos para sus seres queridos.

     Basada en la propia abuela del autor, quien era el corazón de la familia, esta es una cálida historia sobre la Navidad, la generosidad y, sí, los tamales.

Before the first Christmas light is strung, Grandma is hard at work, making thousands of tamales to ensure gifts for her family. This heartwarming tale, based on a true story, explores a grandmother's boundless generosity, and the irresistible magic of tamales.

When the weather changes, but way before the Christmas tree is decorated, Grandma prepares. With so many children and grandchildren in her family, she finds a way to put gifts under the tree-- she sells as many tamales as she can! Masa in one hand, corn husks in the other, Grandma’s just getting started. 15 tamales. As Halloween passes, and Thanksgiving, Grandma is still toiling away in the kitchen: 150 tamales, 700 tamales, 850 tamales. When it’s time to string the lights for Christmas, she’s inching closer to 1000 tamales! Enough to give to those in need and pack the tree with gifts for her loved ones.

Based on the author’s own grandmother, who was the heart of the familia, here is a warm story about Christmas, generosity, and, yes, tamales.

Author

Stephen Briseño is the author of The Notebook Keeper, which received the Pura Belpre Author Honor Award. He has taught middle school English for 15 years, and writes, reads, and drinks a ton of coffee with his wife and daughter in San Antonio, TX. View titles by Stephen Briseño
SONIA SÁNCHEZ paints with both traditional and digital brushes using layers of texture in her work to evoke emotion and movement. Her debut picture book, Here I Am, received two starred reviews and was nominated for the Eisner Award in the category of Best Painter interior art. She is also the illustrator of Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away by Meg Medina, the 2020 Jumpstart Read for the Record Selection. Sonia’s art has been selected for the prestigious Society of Illustrators Original Art Show three times. She lives with her husband, son, and a sleepyhead cat in a blue house near the Mediterranean Sea. View titles by Sonia Sánchez

Reading with Purpose Summit Event

On Monday, June 10th, Penguin Random House Education and DK Learning co-hosted a Reading with Purpose Summit Event in collaboration with Molly Ness, PhD. The event took place at Penguin Random House’s NYC headquarters and included sessions featuring leading education experts and a lunchtime author panel. The in-person professional learning event was built to show

Read more

2024 Elementary School Collection

The Penguin Random House Education Elementary School Collection features outstanding fiction, nonfiction, and picture books from Penguin Young Reader’s, Random House Children’s, DK, and Grupo Editorial, as well as children’s publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Explore online or download this valuable resource to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: Leveled Readers,

Read more

DK Learning Phonic Books Sampler Request

Thank you for your interest in DK Learning | Phonic Books. To download the DK Learning | Phonic Books sampler with four complete readers, please click here and complete the form. Once your information is successfully submitted, a link to download the sampler will be provided on the confirmation screen.   Click here to learn

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more