Bibliographic data
Argueta, Jorge. 2010. Arroz con leche: Un poema para cocinar/Rice Pudding: A Cooking Poem. Ill. Fernando Vilela. Toronto, Ontario: Groundwood Books; Bilingual edition. ISBN-10: 088899981X
Plot summary
A poem about cooking rice pudding told through the voice of a young boy who loves all kind of rice but loves rice pudding best of all. The poem is written in both English and Spanish.
Critical analysis
Arroz con leche is a traditional Latino rice pudding made with milk, sugar and cinnamon. Jorge Argueta who is from El Salvador, has written a delightful “Cooking Poem” about this yummy dish. The poem is written in both Spanish and English. The poem does not lose any of its sweetness in either language because Argueta uses imagery that awakens all five senses. “There is magic in the kitchen” as the process of cooking rice pudding is described as compared to nature and music. “In the kitchen the rice is singing” as it is sprinkled into the pot. “The flames heating the pot /are rainbow hands” and sugar and salt become “Salt stars and sugar snow”.
While a traditional step by step recipe with a list of ingredients, measurements and time would be beneficial for some readers I think that its absence gives readers a chance to make the dish their own by allowing them to make the rice pudding by envisioning it as the narrator does. It reminds me how my abuelita would tell me how to cook a dish when I would ask her for a recipe. There was never an actual written recipe just the knowledge and experience of cooking for so many years that had been passed down from one generation to the next. She too would describe the recipe using analogies and the senses that helped guide her cooking.
The illustrations by Fernando Vilela, who is from Brazil, are done in black ink outlines, earth tone colors and white. The white brings out the ingredients as described in the poem, white raindrops of rice, a waterfall of milk, and salt stars and sugar snow. The boy and his family are drawn with Latino features, brown skin and black hair. The illustrations show the joy the boy has in making his favorite food as his mother lovingly watches and supervises him. Argueta made sure to place an asterisk in the text by parts where adult supervision is needed for children who want to make the rice pudding themselves. The “ribbons” of steam and aroma engulf the home and family in all its sweetness and love.
This “Cooking Poem “about arroz con leche is a delicious treat for the eyes, ears and mouth.
Awards
2011 USBBY Outstanding International Books
2011-2012 Tejas Star Book Award
Review excerpts
Booklist v. 107 no. 5 (November 1 2010) p. 53
“A lyrical, lovely bilingual ode to rice pudding? Well, lovers of that creamy confection won't be surprised at the emotion it engenders. After first telling readers how he likes all kinds of rice--white, brown, fried, stewed--award-winning poet Argueta proceeds, making every step in preparing the dish sound like a great adventure.”—Ilene Cooper
School Library Journal v. 56 no. 9 (September 2010) p. 142
PreS-Gr 3-“A boy goes to the market to buy ingredients for rice pudding. What ensues is a poetic journey of making the sweet treat, step by step. The bilingual text is not a straightforward recipe, but could be followed to make the traditional dish. “ - Shannon Dye, Peoria Public Library, Peoria, AZ
Connections
Jorge Argueta is writing a series of Cooking Poems.
Argueta, Jorge. 2009. Sopa de Frijoles/BeanSoup. Ill. Yockteng, Rafael. Toronto, Ontario: Groundwood Books; Bilingual edition. ISBN-10: 0888998813
Take the ingredients mentioned in the book and with adult supervision make rice pudding.
Write a cooking poem from a recipe for a favorite food.
Picture Book
Bibliographic data
Fox, Mem. 1985. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge. Ill. by Julie Vivas Brooklyn, N.Y.: Kane/Miller Book Publishers. ISBN: 0916291049
Plot summary
Wilfred lives next door to an old people’s home. He likes to visit with the residents, especially with one lady who has four names like him, Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper. Then one day Wilfred finds out that Miss Nancy has lost her memory and he wants to know what a memory is. He goes about asking all the residents “What’s a memory?” and they all respond with varying answers what a memory means to them. Wilfred decides to look for memories for Miss Nancy since she has lost hers. He fills a basket with items that fit the descriptions his friends told him what a memory was. The items help Miss Nancy find her memories.
Critical analysis
This sweet story is about friendship and memories. The innocence of young Wilfrid is charming when he asks the residents about the definition of memory and is touching when he tries to find things that will help his friend find hers. Each of his friends has a different meaning of what a memory is, “something warm” “something from long ago” “something that makes you cry” or “something that makes you laugh” “a memory is precious as gold”. Wilfrid takes all their memories and makes some of his own and in return he helps Miss Nancy remember hers.
The watercolor illustrations by Julie Vives are pleasant, sweet and soft. The elderly residents are realistic in their posture and body shape although the bellies do look a bit exaggerated. Wilfrid however looks like a child with boundless energy as he visits his friends.
Mem Fox is from Australia and “Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge” was her first book published in the United States in 1985. With the exception of a word or two like cricket and porridge, the story transcends the globe. Young and old, friendship and memories and memory loss are universal no matter what country you live in or what culture you belong to. Everyone can relate to this heart warming story.
Review excerpts
School Library Journal
The illustrations splashy, slightly hazy watercolors in rosy pastels contrast the boy's fidgety energy with his friends' slow, careful movements and capture the story's warmth and sentiment." – John Peters, New York Public Library
Connections
Storylinonline.com is a website from the Screen Actors Guild where celebrities read children’s books. View and listen to the video of “Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge” read by Bradley Whitford.
Students can interview grandparents or other older adults and ask them what a memory means to them.
Students can create a memory basket using items that fit that description of what a memory means to the characters of the story. They can fill it with objects that are warm, something from long ago, something as precious as gold, something that makes you cry and something that makes you laugh.
Novel- Batchelder Award 2003
Bibliographic data
Funke, Cornelia. 2001. The Thief Lord. Translated from German by Oliver Latsch. New York. Chicken House, Scholastic. ISBN 9780545227704
Plot summary
Prosper and Bo runaway from Hamburg Germany after their mother passes away and their aunt wants to separate the brothers. The siblings go to Venice, Italy because their mother had told them stories about the city. The boys join a group of street children who live in an abandoned theater. The leader of the group is a boy named Scipio who calls himself the Thief Lord. The children survive through petty theft and selling items the Thief Lord steals. The Thief Lord is commissioned to steal a mysterious broken wooden wing and the children set about planning the heist. A detective hired by the brothers’ aunt finds the small band of children and he reveals Scipio’s true identity. The children continue with their planned heist and awaken the owner of the home, Ida. She agrees to let them have the broken wooden wing after she explains its part of a magical merry go round and if she could go with them to the exchange. The adventures that ensue take the children on a journey full of magic and life changing events.
Critical analysis
The story was originally written in German by Cornelia Funke and translated into English by Oliver Latsch. The setting of the story, the city of Venice is very much a character in the story. Prosper and Bo’s mother told the boys many stories about the city’s culture, art, and architecture. The alley and canals served as a great way for the children to lose the adults chasing after them. A map of the city is provided at the beginning of the book to provide readers with a sense of location. The story is a fantasy but the city of Venice is real and is described with so much detail and accuracy that when the fantasy elements come to light halfway through the book the reader may be surprised if the genre is unknown before reading it.
The characters are a diverse group. The group of children includes a girl, a boy of African descent, an Italian, and the brothers who are German. The detective is not a native of Italy but has lived in the city for several years. Although the story was originally written in German, and later translated to English, the Italian language is also part of the story. Characters have Italian names and Italian words and phrases are written throughout the novel. A glossary of Italian words is included at the back of the book.
The story is full of suspense and mystery. It is a story of friends who take care of each like family and people who are searching for a place to belong. When the story moves into the realm of fantasy it takes on the magical quality of a good adventure story for children who want to be adults and adults who want to be children.
Awards
2003 Mildred L. Batchelder Award for Outstanding Translated Book
Child Magazine Best Book of the Year
Parenting Magazine Book of the Year
Zurich Children's Book Award
Book Award from the Vienna House of Literature
Swiss Youth Literature Award
New York Times Bestseller and Notable Book
USA Today Bestseller
Book Sense Book of the Year Award
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
Child Magazine Best Book of the Year
ALA Notable Children's Book
NCTE Notable Children's Book in the Language Art
Winner of the 2005 Young Readers Choice Award (Senior Division)
Review excerpts
The Horn Book v. 78 no. 6 (November/December 2002) p. 754-5
"The story moves at a slow pace, lingering in explanatory dialogue and descriptions of Venice, but the idiosyncrasy and resonance of the central carousel image create a potent, continental atmosphere that laces the tale with a bit of excitement. In the course of pursuing the carousel's mystery, Victor and Ida and the brothers fob off Prospero and Bo's aunt with the kind of child she really wants and band together as a new kind of family—a sweet and comforting conclusion that will satisfy readers whose hearts have been touched by the loyalty and courage of the two brothers and the rewarded generosity of their new foster parents."-Anita L. Burkam
The New York Times Book Review v. 107 no. 46 (November 17 2002) p. 31
"In Germany and England, critics have compared 'The Thief Lord' to a Dickens tale, probably because of its obvious resemblances to 'Oliver Twist.' But it also has the feel of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' with its transformations, disguises, role reversals and revelations, and its final harmonious resolution of destinies. One of the virtues of this splendid novel—Funke's first to be translated into English—is its final vision of youth and age, in which children who have been betrayed by life regain their trust in their elders. In turn, the best of grown-ups find adventure in that most daunting task: protecting the young while giving them the freedom to grow."-Rebecca Pepper Sinkler
Connections
Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke
Cornelia Funke. 2003. Inkheart. Translated from German by Anthea Bell.
New York. Chicken House, Scholastic. ISBN 0439852706
Cornelia Funke. 2007. Inkspell. Translated from German by Anthea Bell.
New York. Chicken House,Scholastic. ISBN 0439554012
Cornelia Funke. 2008. Inkdeath. Translated from German by Anthea Bell.
ew York. Chicken House,Scholastic. ISBN 0439866286
Writing prompt: If you were to go for a ride on the magical merry go round would you want to become older or younger? Why? What would you do?
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