The Taco Magician and Other Poems for Kids / El mago de los tacos y otros poemas para niños

"When our father cooks, tacos become magic tricks," Diane Gonzales Bertrand writes in the title poem of this collection for young people. "Like a magic wand, / he stirs circles through the frying pan, / Like a magic cape, he wraps a tortilla / around our wishes." In her introduction, "A Taste for Poetry," she exhorts adults to introduce kids to verse. By helping them discover moments and memories through words, she says "tiny roots of curiosity, / tender wings of knowledge" will grow.

Gonzales Bertrand writes about everyday occurrences and feelings that children will recognize. In "Blankie," a blanket sewn before the girl's birth kept her safe and warm for years. She can't take it to school now, but at home she still wraps it around herself, "even though it won't / cover my toes and my shoulders at the same time." There's also an ode to chanclas, or flip-flops, "Narrow rubber soles / protect my bare feet / from hot sidewalks." They even clap for her when she walks!