Caldo, Caldo, Caldo/Sip, Slurp, Soup, Soup

As they watch Mama chop vegetables to fill her large soup pot, four Latino children eagerly anticipate suppertime: ""We can't wait, can't wait, can't wait. Is it ready? Is it ready? Is it ready?"" Written in the children's collective voice, Bertrand's (Alicia's Treasure) text, printed in both English and Spanish, is belabored and unduly repetitious. DeLange's (Pepita Talks Twice/Pepita habla dos veces) festively hued, watercolor and ink cartoons lack polish. However, as they cheerfully burst out of crowded patterned borders, her renderings of the incessantly smiling siblings convey their enthusiasm--and impatience--for the traditional soup and for the tortillas the family sees being made at the tortilleria. A generic soup recipe wraps up this less than satiating volume. Ages 3-7. (May)