Book Description
for Mice and Beans by Pam Muñoz Ryan and Joe Cepeda
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
“When there’s room in the heart, there’s room in the house, except for a mouse.” Luckily for Rosa María, the mice in her house don’t take offense at that saying, or at the mousetrap she sets night after night as she prepares for her niece Catalina’s seventh birthday party. Instead, as Rosa María cooks enchiladas, rice, and beans and squeezes fresh lemonade, the mice are closely monitoring all preparations and checking the “to do” list. The day of the party, just as Catalina takes her first swing at the piñata, Rosa María realizes she forgot to fill it! But candy spills out when the little girl gives it a satisfying “Whack!” Pam Muñoz Ryan’s amusing tale is a flavorful blend of English narrative with Spanish phrases. How did those mice fill that piñata? Joe Cepeda’s full-color illustrations, which span each two-page spread, provide the answer. (Ages 4–7)
CCBC Choices 2002 . © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2002. Used with permission.