The Tortilla Factory

The Tortilla Factory
Written by Gary Paulsen and Illustrated by Ruth Wright Paulsen
Publisher: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1995
Grade: K-2
Themes: Tortilla making process, cycle

Summary: This story is about how tortillas are made. Farmers are in the field, preparing the soil, planting the seeds and growing the corn. We see the workers in the factory, using corn flour to create dough, kneading the dough and baking it into tortillas. Then, we return to the farmer's home, eating the tortillas so they have energy to continue their work. Tortilla making is basically a full circle just like seasons and water cycle for example. The process repeats itself.

Reflection: This non-fiction topic would be interesting to children because tortillas are a staple in so many families kitchens. It is simple text, but almost poetic. The illustrations are perfect for the book. They are made up of warm colors that helps you to envision someone making the tortillas in your kitchen and how delicious and warm they are when you finally get to eat them. This book is perfect to demonstrate a cycle. The cycle of planting, harvesting, processing the grain and eating the tortillas.

Pre-Reading: Make an overhead of the beginning and ending of the book's text and discuss what the students think it means and predict what will happen in the story based on the sentences in the beginning and the sentences at the very end.

Post-Reading: Ask the children if they noticed anything about how the book was organized. I would tell the children that the book goes in a cycle or full circle. We will make a list on chart paper of other things that go in cycles. Some examples could be the water cycle, seasons, school, days and night and trees and plants. Then the students will be given a piece of paper. They will draw and color one of these cycles we talked about.

About the author:

Gary Paulsen was born in 1939. He was never a dedicated student, but he enjoyed reading. He ran away from home when he was 14 and traveled with a carnival. Paulsen realized he wanted to be a writer when he was working as a satellite technician for an aerospace firm. Paulsen has written over 175 books. Gary's wife, Ruth is an illustrator. They spend their time at their home in New Mexico and a boat on the Pacific.