A Spoon for Every Bite - Hardcover

Hayes, Joe

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0531087999 ISBN 13: 9780531087992

Publisher: Orchard Books, 1996

Synopsis

In a humorous cautionary story based on traditional Hispanic folktales from the Southwest, a proud and wealthy man foolishly squanders his fortune in a game of one-upmanship by trying to buy enough spoons to use a different one for each bite of food.

About this title

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-This Southwestern tale is based on a play on words that most children raised (even peripherally) in the Hispanic tradition understand: a rolled tortilla can be used as both bread and eating utensil. This slight story's humor depends on a character who makes a fool of himself because he doesn't have this knowledge. A poor couple who own only two spoons invite a rich neighbor to be their newborn's godfather. They save their pennies to buy a third spoon, then invite their compadre over for dinner. When he hears what they have done, he laughs at them, bragging about the number of spoons he owns. The husband and wife can't resist telling him about someone they know who never uses the same spoon twice. Eaten with jealousy, the man begins throwing his spoons away after each use (in the poor family's yard). He goes through his entire fortune before giving up in despair. His neighbors take him to a nearby pueblo where an Indian demonstrates how to have "a spoon for every bite" (a tortilla). An author's note explains the background of the story. Leer's realistic paintings, rendered in pastels, display a southern Arizona desertscape. The faces of the three main characters are especially vivid in their display of emotion.?Ruth Semrau, formerly at Lovejoy School, Allen, TX HOWE, James.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 4^-8. Set in the Southwest, this is the story of a couple so poor they own only two spoons. When their child is born, they ask a rich neighbor to be the baby's compadre (godfather). The couple save up enough to buy a third spoon so that they can invite the rich man to dinner, but he makes a poor guest, bragging about the amount of spoons he owns. The couple tell him they know someone who uses a new spoon for every bite. Obsessed, the rich man buys so many spoons he eventually loses his fortune. The spoon that can be used for every new bite, by the way, is a tortilla. As the author's note tells readers, this story is a variation on several Hispanic traditions that feature poor but clever men (here, the husband inherits all the old spoons and sells them) and a rich but silly adversary. The tortilla-as-spoon motif is also familiar. The attractive paintings do a nice job of re-creating the Old Southwest, featuring desert colors and flora, fauna, and architecture of the region. The art also helps kids visualize just how a tortilla becomes an eating utensil. Ilene Cooper

About this edition

• Publisher: Orchard Books
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0531087999
• ISBN 13: 9780531087992
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Leer Rebecca