cover image The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred

The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred

Samantha R. Vamos, illus. by Rafael López, Charlesbridge, $17.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-58089-242-1

Farm animals collaborate to make a pot of rice pudding in this energetic riff on "This Is the House That Jack Built." Animals and their contributions are first introduced in English ("This is the donkey/ that plucked the lime"), but ensuing verses feature Spanish translations in bold (a multitasking hen lays eggs "while grating the limón/ plucked by the burro"). López's acrylics-on-wood paintings have a burnished copper glow, while the menagerie exudes cartoonish joie de vivre. The seamless integration of Spanish vocabulary makes this a rousing primer. Ages 5–8. (Feb.)