"Abuelita and I Make Flan" by Adriana Hernández Bergstrom is an absolute gem of a children's book that celebrates the warmth of family, the joy of baking, and the beauty of Cuban culture. From the moment I opened its pages, I was transported into Anita's kitchen, where the delicious aroma of flan fills the air and love abounds.

The story follows Anita as she helps her abuela prepare flan for her abuelo's birthday, but a mishap threatens to derail their plans when Anita accidentally breaks her abuela's cherished flan serving plate. The heartwarming tale of honesty, forgiveness, and creativity that unfolds is both endearing and uplifting, reminding readers of the importance of honesty and communication in family relationships.

I found myself rooting for Anita as she grapples with the decision to tell her abuela the truth, fearing that she has ruined her abuelo's special day. But as Anita learns, mistakes happen, and what truly matters is how we handle them. Watching Anita and her abuela work together to find a solution warmed my heart and left me with a smile on my face.

One of the highlights of "Abuelita and I Make Flan" is its celebration of Cuban culture, from the mouthwatering descriptions of traditional Cuban desserts to the inclusion of Spanish terms that add authenticity to the story. The glossary of Spanish terms at the end of the book is a wonderful addition, allowing readers to learn and appreciate the rich language of Cuba.

Overall, "Abuelita and I Make Flan" is a delightful and heartwarming children's book that will captivate readers of all ages. Its charming illustrations, relatable characters, and uplifting message make it a perfect read-aloud for families and classrooms alike. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a heartwarming story about love, forgiveness, and the joy of baking with loved ones.

Culture, food, loving grandmothers – there’s not more you can ask for in a children’s book (or any book, quite frankly). One little kiddo has never actually made flan before – but today is a big day, because his Abuela is going to teach him how it’s done. Abuelita is from Cuba and is an expert in making flan – if that wasn’t enough it’s also her birthday. Flan is a recipe that Abuelita emphasizes takes time, patience, and love – three themes that soar throughout this book. A beautiful story not only of patience and love and home, but also of youth versus old age, and the love exuded when this little one helps his grandmother with the preparation aspects she cannot perform due to the arthritis in her hands. Bonus: this one includes some Spanish as well, to not only help your little ones with their English reading skills, but to also introduce them to foreign languages. The best lesson of all is that love and time spent with loved ones trumps all accidents and mistakes.

Very sweet book about making flan with grandma. I love the inclusivity. I would prefer that some of the illustrations be changed slightly to not have the child be doing things in the kitchen that are unsafe, but I don't know that kids would pick up on it.

I loved this story and can’t wait to see the final copy so I can add to my child’s shelf! Flan is my favorite dessert and such a task to make this story of connection to grandparents and cooking as a family is so special to me I adore

This is a lovely story about bonding with grandparents over food, cooking, and family traditions. Anita is excited to make flan with her grandmother and goes to look at the special plate they always use, but, in her excitement, she breaks it. She's devastated and very worried about telling them, but learns a very special lesson about what's important in a family.

This is such a sweet story, and very relatable for young kids. The flan looks and sounds delicious too and I love that the recipe was included. The only thing that tripped me up a bit was that the story features very heavy Spanglish that is untranslated in context. A glossary is included at the end, but that doesn't help much when abuela says "I have to stir despacito para que no me salpique!" and, even speaking basic Spanish myself, I have no idea what that means or how to pronounce it correctly. If you're planning to read this aloud you may want to give it a pre-read so you can clarify for the kids.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

<b>**NOTE**</b> <i>THIS is an outlier review. Even if I like the story, I believe in giving a full and honest review about how I view a book and whether I would buy it or read it to the littles in my life, EVEN if it goes against every other review out there. I am used to being unpopular, so I'd rather be honest than win a popularity contest or impress someone. </i>

This was, unfortunately, a poorly executed, poorly illustrated children's - picture book.

The whole story is sketchy [child breaks her grandmother's beloved plate, brought with her from Cuba, chooses NOT to tell anyone for hours, and when she finally does, all is forgiven, all is well. I believe in forgiveness for mistakes made, but this was highly unrealistic. No child should learn that it is okay to break something and not tell and when they do, there are no consequences], the illustrations are at times, downright scary [all the adults look like they just had a stroke or are suffering from Bells Palsy], and there are several moments where the child is either touching the oven or placing their hands FULL ON the window of the oven [NOT a good thing in a children's book - we adults spend so much time telling kids to NOT do this as IT. IS. DANGEROUS. ].

While I loved the idea behind this story [I lived with my grandparent's as a kid and loved my time spent with them doing special things]. the execution was so poor. Overall, it was really disappointing and I cannot recommend it to anyone.

Thanks to NetGalley, Adriana Hernandez Bergstrom, and Charlesbridge for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love finding beautiful picture books that my little girls enjoy. Both of them, ages seven and two, love Abuelita and I Make Flan. The pictures are beautiful, the story is delightful, and there is a delicious recipe at the end.
Anita is excited about today. She is going to help her grandmother, her Abuelita, make a flan for Abuelo‘s birthday. Of course, they will flip it out onto the special plate that Abuelita brought from Cuba many, many years ago. However, Anita makes a big mistake. If she confesses what she did, well Abuelita still love her? All the time that they make the flan, she worries. How can she find the courage to confess what she did?
Abuelita and I Make Flan is a delightful glimpse into the life of a Cuban family. It is a beautiful story about love and forgiveness. I also like the way this book introduces a food that most children don’t know about. The beautiful, colourful pictures add to the attraction of this book.
I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

Thank you to the author, Charlesbridge and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautifully written and illustrated children's book about family traditions, that shows it's okay to make mistakes as long as you are truthful. We loved the multi-generational and multicultural aspect of this story, although it would have been helpful to have the English translations of the Spanish texts more accessible (rather than in a glossary at the end of the book). The children I read this with were intrigued with the recipe, as was I, and we plan to make our own flan soon!

This was a cute book! I liked the illustration style and the story was cute, though perhaps a bit wordier then I try and pick for story-time. I did appreciate the fact that they included a recipe and translations in the back, though from context clues you don't really need it even if you don't understand everything. I really liked how the visuals were conveyed in the book, such as well she's helping her abuela grab ingredients or her apology when she finally confessed to breaking the plate. Overall a sweet selection that will reassure readers that telling the truth isn't as scary as it might seem!

Such a good picture book that shows the bond between grandparents and the kids.

This is a story about Abuelita who's celebrating her birthday. She thinks things went wrong but her grandmother comes to her rescue. They have fun together making something beautiful and yummy together.

The illustration is so good. The art sequence is attractive and gives all the fun vibes to the story.

I love how this story focuses on how grandparents and grandchildren bond over the smallest yet the most important things they do together.

Thank you, Charlesbridge, for the advance reading copy.

This was an interesting book. I love how the Spanish language was present throughout without translations (unless you looked in back). It was a family slipping from one language to another without missing a beat. It made the book feel very real life. The story is of a granddaughter making Flan with her grandmother, and accidently breaking the Flan plate. This was a great intergenerational and intercultural story. It could be used for some many different story times or activities and I can see it on school library shelves for quite a while.

Ability and I Make Flan is a wonderful story. As a teacher with many Spanish speaking students this book would be wonderful in the classroom as a read aloud. Great story line about family, making mistakes and honesty. Would highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and its author for providing me with an advanced copy.

Abuelita and her grand-daughter are cooking a flan to celebrate grandpa's birthday. However, she did something wrong and it might be punished because of the probability to get mad her abuelita or abuelo. Hence, she tried to...

Well i think you must to guess what's next. In my point of view this is a wonderful story to read with a kid,

4.2

I enjoyed reading Abuelita and I Make Flan. Just wish I had some flan to go along with it. I like how the author included a recipe at the end. My daughter and mother in law love baking up a storm. I saw the similarities between them two and the characters in the story. I will be buying this book for them to share together as well as for my library.

This was a cute story about a girl and her grandparents. Families will enjoy reading it together and they can even try to make flan together after reading. A glossary for Spanish words used in the text is included.

This is a good book, a gentle reminder how precious little children are, mostly to their grandparents. Based on true story (I presume), it was amazing to learn some new words in Spanish. The pretty illustrations are also a plus point of the book.

This book would be a wonderful addition to the classroom! I really like the Spanish words embedded throughout. The storyline is something that many children can relate to. The family dynamics are warm and loving. Also incudes a recipe for flan at the end!

Representation: 10
Story: 10
Illustration: 10

Before you even think about it – as I did throughout the book – yes, we get the recipe at the end. Win!

I adored this story. It is touching and heartwarming. Abuelita and I Make Flan helps children with many skills – it encourages collaboration, respect, honesty, and cooking (which is a great way to help children develop math and scientific thinking skills)

** Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review. **

Abuelita and I make Flan is a sweet book about a girl helping her Abuelita make flan for her Abuelo's birthday. When Anita accidentally breaks the special plate the flan is meant to be presented on she struggles to figure out what she needs to do. The little twist at the end is great and it made me smile. This book felt so honest (and it's about telling the truth, so it's very fitting) and it dealt with it's subject in a way that will appeal to young readers. I also loved the fact that the recipe is included at the end because I know for a fact some of our young patrons like to try those out. Highly recommend for all public libraries.

I loved this book! It's always nice to read children's books that bring in traditions and cultures from around the world. In Abuelita and I Make Flan, Anita makes flan with her Abuela for her Abuelo's birthday. When Anita breaks the plate that Abuela has been using for years to serve the flan, Anita worries that she will anger Abuela. Instead, we witness a beautiful message and some truth behind the beloved flan serving plate.

I appreciated the Spanish translations in the back, as well as the recipe for Cheese Flan. The pictures were also a nice and personal touch!