Churro Stand

February 15, 2024
Luc�a and Santiago help their mother sell delicious fried pastry sticks on the streets of New York City. Luc�a, who narrates, helps Mam� make treats that will be covered in cinnamon sugar and served with chocolate sauce. Mam� rolls a suitcase filled with churros as the family travels to Manhattan, where they'll sell their wares from a pushcart. Mam� joins a diverse community of street vendors who run newsstands and sell a variety of items. Ice cream proves more popular on this hot day, so the children draw sidewalk chalk directions to lure customers to the stand; after a storm washes away the chalk, Mam� joins forces with the ice cream vendor to create delicious churro sundaes. This tale of a small business succeeding is bolstered by illustrations that use perspective to create an almost 3-D effect that makes the action feel immediate and intimate. Spotlighting the power of community, this sweet (pun intended) story is warm and welcoming. An appended glossary defines Spanish terms used in the book, though the tale's first two words--crujido and estallido--are omitted. The family is cued Latine. In an author's note, Gonz�lez discusses how the many women who sell churros in subway stations in New York City, as well as her own hardworking mother, inspired the narrative. Crackles and pops like the confections at the center of this story. (photograph, list of street vendor advocacy groups) (Picture book. 5-7)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 11, 2024
In a mother-centered tribute from González, young Lucía narrates how Mamá starts the day before sunrise as she makes enough churros (each “destined for a hungry belly”) to fill a gigantic suitcase. The two and sibling Santiago take the subway across N.Y.C.’s East River and to Union Square, where Mama picks up her pushcart—“a shiny metallic chariot”—greets other vendors, and begins selling. To attract customers on the hot day (“We should be selling ice cream,” Santiago mumbles), the siblings draw sidewalk-chalk arrows directing passers-by, but a sudden rainstorm dampens sales until collaborative effort turns the day around. Quiles’s gouache and acrylic illustrations depict a sunlit city whose fragrant smells are imagined as sparkles and swirls, and whose experiences are true to life. Delving into family history (“Our abuelita Caren had a churro stand too”), this bustling metropolitan story highlights many modes of cooperation and love. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author’s note, call to action, and limited Spanish glossary conclude. A Spanish-language edition publishes simultaneously. Ages 5–7.

January 1, 2024
This picture book follows a day in the life of a churro vendor in New York City, as narrated by her young daughter. Pastel-hued gouache and acrylic illustrations sprinkled with small starbursts highlight the sweet and beautiful aspects of this career, but the text does not over-glamorize, mentioning Mama's soreness and the anxieties the family feels about selling enough churros. The book ends in happy, delicious collaboration with a fellow vendor. Concurrently published in Spanish as El carrito de churros. An author's note, "A Call to Action" providing resources supporting street vendor and food service workers rights, and a glossary of Spanish words used in the text are appended.

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)