My Mama's Little Ranch on the Pampas

In the sequel to On the Pampas, the author recalls her first year on the small Argentinian ranch purchased and managed by her mother, in an account that includes a visual dictionary of the Spanish words and geographical terms used in the text.

Kindergarten-Grade 3-This story about ranch life on the Argentinean pampas is told in the voice of young Maria Cristina, who describes the activities as the seasons change. Mama buys the ranch during a hot and steamy January. The children go back to school in March, and during the cold and rainy July winter vacations, most of the calves are born. Finally, on a very hot Christmas Eve, a special gift arrives. The story, based on the author's childhood, challenges stereotypes of this culture by depicting a woman as the buyer and owner of the ranch. Text and illustrations portray mother and daughter working and sharing all of the chores. The narrative also integrates many local customs and is sprinkled with regional vocabulary. A colorfully illustrated glossary extends the explanations and includes a map and a diagram of the seasonal differences between the southern and northern hemispheres. The watercolor illustrations bring to life a story that otherwise would not be particularly interesting. The landscapes authentically depict the flora of the region, while the interior scenes include details that add to the credibility of the story. A good choice to spark interest in this region of the world.
Graciela Italiano, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Revisiting the fond childhood memories she mined so successfully in On the Pampas , Brusca again opens the door on a corner of the world not often frequented by American children's books, her native Argentina. Here, she tells of life on a ranch, far from her family's home in Buenos Aires, which her mother bought and managed. For an adventuresome girl and her equally spirited brother, the ranch is heavenly--there are horses to ride and a buggy to drive, places to explore, chores to be done and gauchos' stories to hear. There's drama, too: a cow's calf is delivered by cesarean (the illustrations are tasteful, but fairly graphic) and a spooky nighttime horseback ride. Brusca's kinetic watercolors always seem to be in motion; her spiky, cartoon-like style is imbued with color and energy. Particularly attractive endpapers display maps, a glossary and an explanation of the reverse seasons in the Southern hemisphere. Ages 6-10.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In a sequel to On the Pampas (1991), which described a childhood summer on her grandparents' ranch, Brusca relates a year's events on the small ranch her mother purchased to raise cattle, and where the family spent holidays and weekends. A straightforward narrative introducing interesting details of ranch life derives a minimal plot from events concerning the cattle: their purchase at auction, one heifer's escapes through a much-mended fence, and--most dramatically--the caesarian that proves necessary after the little Angus gets together with a big Holstein bull. Endpapers explain the southern hemisphere's seasons and some Argentine terms for foods, dances, etc., with pronunciation; energetic watercolors with angular forms recalling Dirk Zimmer's characters nicely evoke the setting. (Autobiography/Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 5-8. In an energetic companion to the autobiographical On the Pampas (1991), Brusca remembers the first year on her mother's small cattle ranch in Argentina. Recalling everything from the mending of fences and the purchasing of a herd of Black Angus to a boot-stomping birthday celebration and a messy shower of bird droppings, the smoothly written and funny text conveys a great deal of information about life among the gauchos. The spicy, cartoon-edged watercolors have a frankness appropriate to life on the farm, such as showing the emergency cesarean section performed on a small but rebellious cow (this story line adds drama and focus), resulting in the Christmas birth of the calf, Manchita. The expressively illustrated glossary of Spanish terms on the endpapers should satisfy kids' curiosity about the reversal of the seasons in the southern hemisphere. Julie Corsaro