Vamos! Let's Go Eat

Justification

Vamos! Let’s Go Eat was awarded the Pura Belpre award for illustrations. This books was also starred on Horn Book Magazine, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal. This book is full of color and culture.

Evaluation

One of the many characteristics that make this book great are its illustrations. The illustrations are busy but not ugly or distracting. A reader could spend several minutes per page just browsing the pictures to see all the small things happening or the uniqueness of the characters. Every page tells more about the story without necessarily adding events to the plot, but a richness to it all. There are characters of every size and shape wearing clothes of every color. There was even a bear wearing a barrel in one scene!

The author also provides a depiction of a sense of community within the “family” of food vendors. One booth or truck helps to provide for another. There are many examples of this but a few include the elotero booth giving their corn husks to Tammy for her to make tamales or the quesadilla and burrito trucks buy their tortillas from Abuela’s tortilla truck. The wrestlers even show a sense of community as they order from an array of different food trucks instead of just one.

Vamos! Let’s Go Eat is silly, playful and fun but also informative. There are many pages with speech bubbles in both Spanish and English. The author included a food glossary that explains each of the spanish dishes and what is in them. Finally, the author demonstrates his knowledge of Hispanic culture all while telling a story of a food delivery service.

Conclusion

Vamos! Let’s Go Eat is a great story to use to teach students about other cultures, particularly about food. This would be a great story to include in a World Geography unit about Mexico. This story is entertaining and educational for young readers. Libraries and elementary teachers will find this book to be a great addition, especially for bilingual students.

Citation

Raúl the Third & Bay, E. (2020). ¡Vamos! Let's go eat! Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.