Cora Cooks Pancit

by Dorina K. Lazo Gilmore and Kristi Valiant

Cora wishes she could be a real cook, like her big sisters and brothers, but she... read more

Cora wishes she could be a real cook, like her big sisters and brothers, but she is “stuck with kid jobs like drawing pictures in the flour or licking spoons.” Opportunity arises the day Cora is home alone with her Mama, and the two set out to make pancit, just as her Lolo— her grandpa—did when he was a cook for Filipino farmworkers when he first came to California. As her Lolo used to do, Cora’s Mama tells stories about the Philippines as the two soak noodles, shred chicken, chop vegetables, cook, and stir. When her family sits down to pancit that evening, Cora wonders if she did everything right. She must have, because they like it! Best of all, Dad declares that it “tastes like your Lolo’s pancit,” as Cora and her contemporary Filipino American family sit contentedly around the dinner table. A glossary and “Lolo’s Pancit Recipe” round out the book. (Ages 3–7)

© Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2010

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