The Runaway Tortilla

By Eric A. Kimmel and Erik Brooks

A sassy tortilla, so light she jumps off the griddle, leads an elaborate game of chase through the desert while taunting a passel of critters—two horned toads, three donkeys, four jackrabbits, five rattlesnakes, and six buckaroos. But has she met her match in Señor Coyote?

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestWinds Press
• Release date: Sep 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781941821886

Eric A. Kimmel

Eric A. Kimmel has been writing for children for more than 40 years. His 100-plus titles include such classics as Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock and The Chanukkah Guest. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

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Reviews for The Runaway Tortilla

[dms02 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

a similar story to that of the Gingerbread Boy. We read them together and compared the similarities in the two books.

[ksager-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Runaway Tortilla is a Latino parallel to The Gingerbread Man. Senorita Tortilla hops off of the griddle of Tia Lupe and Tio Jose, and rolls away from the desert with an assembly of people and creatures chasing after her. When she finally stops to do something nice for a cunning coyote, she is deceived and snapped shut in his trap. A book that incorporates a fun story with counting as well as a lesson about deception. This is a light and airy tale that teaches a hard lesson at the end.

[kidlit9 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In this southwestern version of the Gingerbread Man, a tortilla runs away from the woman who is about to cook him.

[Dori Mondon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

so much fun to read to my daughter - learned some new Spanish words too

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Runaway Tortilla, illustrated by Randy Cecil.That classic Anglo-American folktale from New England, The Gingerbread Man, is transplanted to Texas in this picture-book retelling from author Eric A. Kimmel and illustrator Randy Cecil. When a light and fluffy tortilla runs away from their taquería, Tía Lupe and Tío José chase after it, joined by an ever-growing assortment of animals and people. The tortilla rolls along its way, taunting her pursuers with a rhyming chant, until finally she meets her match, in the form of a cunning coyote...Originally published in 2000, with artwork by Randy Cecil, The Runaway Tortilla was reprinted in 2015 with new illustrations by Erik Brooks. This review is for the original edition, although I have also requested the new one from the library, given my interest in examining how different artists interpret the same text. In any case, this was a fairly engaging story, one of many traditional tales - see also: Little Red Hot, The Three Little Tamales, Jack and the Giant Barbecue, etc. - that Kimmel has transplanted to Texas. As I mentioned in my reviews of some of these other titles, I'm not always enthusiastic about transplanted tales, as I would prefer to see retellings of stories that actually hail from the cultures and regions being depicted. That said, this tale type, featuring a runaway pastry, is extremely widespread already, so seeing it in a new cultural context felt quite appropriate. Recommended to picture-book readers who enjoy folktales and/or stories set in Texas, with a Latino flavor.