Nacho's Nachos : The Story Behind the World's Favorite Snack by Sandra Nickel and Oliver Dominguez - ESSENTIAL

Nacho's Nachos : The Story Behind the World's Favorite Snack by Sandra Nickel, illustrations by Oliver Dominguez PICTURE BOOK, NON-FICTION BIOGRAPHY Lee and Low, 2020 $19. 9781620143698 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

Ignacio Anaya was born in Mexico at the turn of the 20th century. Because there were a lot of Ignacios, he went by Nacho. One of his favorite foods were Quesadillas - his foster mom made them best!. He learned how to cook from her and eventually got a job working at a restaurant called The Victory Club in Texas. One day, a special customer came in with friends and asked Nacho to make something new and different - with limited ingredients in the kitchen, he grabbed some tortillas, sprinkled on cheese and a strip of jalapeño - melted it all together and "Nacho's Special" was born. 

No spoilers here, there's more to the story - celebrities, a recipe for making the "original" and an extended author's note with sources make this picture book biography a fun celebration of the 80th anniversary of nachos. Dominguez's illustrations are full color and realistic. A great way to introduce a cooking activity or talk about someone behind an everyday thing - yes, someone invented nachos!

Lisa Librarian