THE RUNAWAY TORTILLA

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kimmel, Eric A. 2000. The Runaway Tortilla. Ill. Randy Cecil. Delray Beach, FL: Winslow Press. ISBN 189081718X.

PLOT SUMMARY
Tia Lupe and Tio Jose make the best tortillas in town at their taqueria called El Papagayo Feliz, The Happy Parrot. Because they made their tortillas so light and fluffy, one was able to leap from the griddle and roll away. She exclaimed, “I’m too beautiful to eat!” Tia Lupe and Tio Jose chase after the tortilla, but the tortilla rolls away singing, “Run as fast as fast can be. You won’t get a bite of me. Doesn’t matter what you do. I’ll be far ahead of you!” The tortilla rolls through the desert passed two horned toads, three donkeys, four jackrabbits, five rattlesnakes and six buckaroos. She finally comes to a canyon where she stops to help a cunning coyote who has a bad cough. Senor Coyote cries out to the tortilla to help him get the grasshopper that’s caught in his throat. The sly coyote promises great treasures for her help. The tortilla confidently rolls into his mouth. Then, “SNAP” the tortilla is no more.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This southwestern version of the Gingerbread Man gives a reader a valuable lesson on bragging and taunting others. Kimmel begins this adventure at the El Papagayo Feliz restaurant owned by Tia Lupe and Tio Jose. Like the gingerbread man, the feisty tortilla comes to life and sings her song as she weaves through the desert. “Run as fast as fast can be. You won’t get a bite of me. Doesn’t matter what you do. I’ll be far ahead of you!” The catchy phrase is printed in long wavy lines across the pages. The tortilla is finally outwitted by Senor Coyote who asks the tortilla to step into his mouth to pull the out grasshopper that's stuck in his throat. Cecil uses two pages to give the readers an inside look into the coyote’s mouth. His playful and colorful illustrations depict the setting of the Rio Grande with his yellow, orange and red tones across each page.

Ketteman uses some Spanish words, such as “tio, tia, taqueria, and arroyo” that may need to be translated to a very young reader. Also, he uses the traditional name for a donkey, which may be offensive to some younger children. Ketteman presents a good moral to the story which is that it is not wise to brag about beauty and tease others because you never know what can happen to you.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
Review in Horn Book: “Playful illustrations in a brown-gold palette set this one in the Texas desert.”
Review in Kirkus: “The author of a conventional Gingerbread Man dishes up another version, this with a Southwestern flavor and a female entrée.
Review in School Library Journal: “Kimmel’s saucy story joins a swarm of similar, albeit popular, retellings of traditional tales with a Southwestern setting.”

CONNECTIONS
Classroom/Home Activity: Find out how to tortillas are made. What ingredients are needed? Students can make and share tortillas and their recipes.
Science Activity: Encourage students to research one or more of the southwestern animals portrayed in the story.

Other stories retold by Eric A. Kimmel:
Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock, ISBN 082340689X
Anansi and the Talking Melon, ISBN 0823411672
Anansi Goes Fishing, ISBN 0823410226
The Gingerbread Man, ISBN 0823408248