Review by Booklist Review
Ages 5-8. Maria Lili spends Saturdays with her grandparents, Mama Ana and Papa Angelino, making a wonderful chicken stew called sancocho. One Saturday, she learns that the only food in the house is eggs; there is no money to buy what's needed for making the stew. Mama Ana tells Maria Lili to put the eggs in a basket and accompany her to the market, where the two go from stall to stall, bartering their goods. Young readers will enjoy seeing Mama Ana, a shrewd and experienced barterer, bargain for the best and biggest chicken and vegetables. Bright, lively watercolors capture the action and flavor of the marketplace, which is alive with colorful characters and unusual foods. Adults may want to use Mama Ana's sancocho recipe, found on the last page, in a follow-up activity, and children may want to give the barter system a try. But perhaps the best reason for purchasing this is that it answers the call for good literature depicting the Latino culture. --Lauren Peterson
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Maria Lili's mouth is watering for the stew she makes with her grandparents every weekend. But on this particular Saturday, it seems that the aroma of cilantro mingling with cassava, green plantains, vegetables and chicken will exist only in the girl's imagination. There is no money and nothing in the larder but a dozen eggs, Papa Angelino announces. Mama Ana's reply is cryptic: ``Then we will use the eggs to make sancocho.'' How the grandmother transforms the eggs into a savory supper is a case study in bartering genius. Whisking Maria Lili off to the open-air market, Mama Ana deftly moves among the tented stalls, where her hard-nosed but friendly trading eventually garners all the necessary ingredients. Torres's (Subway Sparrow) text bounces with make-a-deal energy, while her light-drenched, calm watercolors convey a serene domesticity. A recipe for sancocho, prepared throughout Central and South America, rounds off the tale. Ages 4-8. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2The author/illustrator of Subway Sparrow (Farrar, 1993) has set her second picture book in her native Colombia. Maria Lili spends every Saturday preparing chicken sancocho with her grandparents, Mama Ana and Papa Angelino. Unfortunately, this Saturday they have only a dozen eggs and none of the necessary ingredients. Fortunately, Mama Ana has an idea. She sets off for the market with Maria Lili and they begin to trade with each vendor: eggs for plantains, plantains for cassava, cassava for corn, and so on until they have all the ingredients they need. The story concludes with a tantalizing recipe for this popular South American stew and a reminder to have an adult help in the kitchen. Double-page watercolors convey a local flavor, although the characters' postures and faces are drawn somewhat stiffly. An enjoyable variation of a cumulative story that will be useful in multicultural programs.Susan Pine, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Papa Angelino wonders how the family will make chicken 'sancocho' this week with no money, but resourceful Mama Ana takes a basket of eggs to market, where their granddaughter Maria Lili helps her bargain and haggle. Later, Maria Lili and her grandparents enjoy their usual Saturday meal. The satisfying tale includes many authentic South American details in both the text and the detailed illustrations. A recipe is included. Also available in Spanish. From HORN BOOK 1995, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Maria Lili gets a lesson in resourcefulness from her grandmother Mama Ana. Every Saturday at her grandparents' home, Maria Lili, a young girl living in Colombia, looks forward to eating a traditional stew known as sancocho. One Saturday, Papa Angelino announces that there is no money to purchase the ingredients needed for the sancocho; all they have is a dozen eggs. Undaunted, Mama Ana packs the eggs into a basket, and off she goes to the market with Maria Lili in tow. Young readers will be awed by Mama Ana's bargaining, bartering, and haggling skills as she gathers all the essentials: plantain, cassava, carrots, corn, tomatoes, onion, garlic, cumin, cilantro, and chicken. Maria Lili even gets a spinning top to round off the acquisitions. Back at home, the family prepares the dish together and savors the meal before taking their siesta. Sunny, warm watercolor illustrations enhance the engaging text, beautifully capturing what could be any small Andean town in Colombia. Young readers will want to keep track of Maria Lili's white dog, who is never mentioned but always visible. At the end of the book, the author has included her own family recipe for sancocho. All characters present White. Family ties, cultural traditions, and a can-do spirit cooked into one sweet story. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
