A Spoon for Every Bite / Cada Bocado con Nueva Cuchara

October 17, 2005
This moral tale around an old joke about tortillas is now available in a bilingual edition. PW
wrote of the English language edition, "The exaggerated facial expressions flatter the hyperbolic story line while also helping to clarify the moral choices found in this deftly told tale." Ages 4-7.

October 1, 2005
Gr 1-4 -A rich man is asked to be the godparent to the son of a couple. When he agrees, the couple invites him over for dinner-but only after they have saved their money to buy a third spoon in order to entertain their guest. The man is amused that these people are so poor that they didn't even have three spoons, but his amusement turns to envy when his hosts tell him that they have a friend who uses a different new spoon for every bite he eats. Determined to keep up with this competition, he wastes his entire fortune buying spoons, sending the used ones to the poor couple. Left destitute, the distraught man goes to see the couple, demanding to know how their story could be true. The answer is surprising-and clever. The Spanish translation is every bit as good as the English original (Orchard, 1996), thus making this critically acclaimed story available to an entirely new audience. Leer's acrylic illustrations make use of subdued desert colors while emphasizing facial expressions with humor and expertise. The version is perfect for collections that don't have the one in English or that need the tale in bilingual form.

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.