Tag: South America

Posted in Uncategorized

Rainy Day for Tortas Fritas! Yum!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Rainy Day for Tortas Fritas, by Lau Moraiti, (Sept. 2025, Paw Prints Publishing), $21.99, ISBN: 9781223189147

Ages 5-8

It’s a rainy day in Uruguay, and that means one thing: it’s time for Dad to make his tortas! “Crispy and golden on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside”, tortas are a doughy treat that can be enjoyed with sugar, dulce de leche, or jam, and our narrator can’t wait for Dad to get in the kitchen. This fun family story is full of family, fun, and food: the perfect way to cheer up a dull and rainy day. Phonetic spelling under some words helps kids with pronunciation of new words like mate (mah-teh) and dulce de leche (dool-zeh deh leh-cheh). The chaos of waiting as the kids play a game and not-so-patiently await the tortas adds playfulness to the story, and the stretchy, colorful fonts make for a fun readaloud. A note from the author explains her father as the inspiration for the story and a tasty recipe for tortas fritas makes sure to suggest an adult’s help. A cute additional purchase for picture book collections.

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Happy Book Birthday to The Three Little Guinea Pigs and the Andean Fox!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Three Little Guinea Pigs and the Andean Fox, by Ana Velez, (Aug. 2024, Page Street Kids), $18.99, ISBN: 9781645678694

Ages 4-8

This spin on the classic tale is set in Andean South America, featuring 3 guinea pigs who have to rebuild after floods destroyed their homes. Like the classic, they each build their home from straw, sticks, and stone, and are suspicious when a fox shows up, exhorting them to come with him. They run from house to house as condors and bears wreak havoc on the sticks and straw, but is Fox really up to no good? The sweet story reaches a delightful conclusion that praises teamwork, friendship, and community. The rhyme scheme makes for a run readaloud, with sound effects in larger, bolder fonts to invite reader participation. Digital illustrations have cultural details, including the endpapers, which feature animals from the story woven into an Andean textile pattern. The story includes words in Spanish and Kichwa (also knows as Quechua), with a glossary in the back matter. Back matter also includes a note on animals of the Andes and a shaved ice recipe. The fox wears a woven scarf and the guines pigs sport hats and sweaters. A very cute addition to storytime collections, and psst… If you need a younger selection to feature and read for Civic Awareness Month, this would be a good choice!

There are some great Andean worksheets and activity sheets on TeachersPayTeachers. I really like this Andean fabric coloring sheet from Tierney Phillips.

Posted in Animal Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Socially smart storytelling: Sara Varon’s New Shoes

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

New Shoes, by Sara Varon, (March 2018, First Second), $17.99, ISBN: 9781596439207

Recommended for readers 8-12

Francis the Donkey is the best shoemaker in his village, using the finest materials to handcraft beautiful shoes. One day, he gets the most exciting news: his favorite calypso singer, Miss Manatee, is coming to sing in his village, and she wants him to create a special pair of new shoes just for her! He’s so excited, but he’s out of the special tiger grass that’s integral to his shoe designs. He asks his friend and supplier, Nigel the Squirrel Monkey, to go into the jungle and get some more tiger grass, but when Monkey doesn’t come back as expected, Francis has to go find him… will he get back to his village AND be able to make Miss Manatee’s shoes on time?

I am a Sara Varon fan. I loved Sweater Weather, and my library kids adore Robot Dreams. I love her cartoony illustration, her bright colors, and in the case of New Shoes, the deeper messages found in her story. Francis is a genuinely kind character who is mortified when he discovers that his shoe materials have been acquired via shady means, and immediately sets to putting things right. When Francis realizes he has to make special accommodations for his newest client, he does the work, researching how to make the best footwear for Miss Manatee. Nigel is big enough to admit his mistakes, apologizes, and helps Francis grow his own materials responsibly.  There are strong messages about fair trade and honesty, good business practices, sustainability, and consideration of others’ differences to be found here, all told in a story that kids can understand without dumbing down the message. It’s smart storytelling with a social conscience that respects the reader. What more can you ask from your books?

I can’t wait to put New Shoes on my graphic novel shelves. It’s got a little nonfiction snuck in, as Francis travels, with his guide book, through the South American jungle and encounters such inhabitants as the capybara, jaguar, and three-toed sloth; it’s got a moral compass, a main character who loves calypso music, and it’s just fun reading.

 

Posted in Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

The jungle heat begs for The Perfect Siesta

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Perfect Siesta, by Pato Mena, (June 2017, NubeOCHO), $15.95, ISBN: 978-84-945415-3-7

Recommended for readers 3-7

It’s a hot day in the jungle, so when a lovely, cool breeze blows through, a jaguar seizes the moment to take a nap. He has things to do, though, so he asks a coati to wake him in 10 minutes. The coati doesn’t want to say no to a jaguar, out of a healthy sense of self-preservation, but that breeze is just sooo nice… so he asks a cockatiel to wake him up in 10 minutes, who then goes on to ask a sloth. The poor sloth feels the pressure to stay awake, but can’t fight it anymore and lets out a giant SNORE that keeps everyone’s promise!

The Perfect Siesta has entered regular storytime reading at home, and I’m planning a great nap-centric read-aloud to debut this one at my library. It’s hilarious and I love the art, especially the giant, sleepy sloth’s eyes (shown on the cover). Snoring is up there with farts in terms of read-aloud humor, so let your loudest snore rip when you’re reading – the text will support you!

The collage-style artwork will catch readers’ attention and makes for a great read-aloud to large groups as well as small groups. The animals are native to South America, so this also makes for a good rainforest storytime, with extra fun if you have plush or flannels to add to the atmosphere.

Originally published in Spanish, The Perfect Siesta translates hilariously into English and makes for a fun bedtime, naptime, anytime read. The Perfect Siesta is a Junior Library Guild selection.

Posted in Early Reader, Intermediate, Non-Fiction

Wild Animals of the South – beautiful animals, beautiful artwork

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

wild_1Wild Animals of the South, by Dieter Braun/Translated by Jen Calleja, (March 2017, Nobrow), $35, ISBN: 9781909263970

Recommended for ages 5+

This gorgeous companion to Braun’s Wild Animals of the North (Nobrow, 2016) introduces readers to animals in the Southern hemisphere. Organized by continent: South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica, readers will enjoy the beautiful, colorful illustrations. The emphasis here is on the illustrations, making this a great starter book for younger children; caregivers can read the short passages on featured animals, which offer fun facts. For example, while most know that a male lion’s mane is his crowning glory, did you know that female lions prefer males with more beautiful and lustrous manes? And that other males will hold back when a male with a more impressive mane appears?

The art is stunning. Braun’s illustrations are geometric, with strong lines and rich colors. There is a wry sense of humor in some – the lion’s lush mane, for instance – while others, like the breaching humpback whale, are breathtaking. A waddle of penguins, under a snowy sky, stand in the stark shadow of glaciers. Braun captures habitats with the same beauty the he sees in the animals themselves.

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The $35 price tag may be a bit steep for some readers, especially those who are looking for more information than artwork (but that’s what libraries are for!), but this book is gorgeous for wildlife lovers and art lovers. For more of Dieter Braun’s illustrations, make sure to visit his website.

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Posted in Adventure, Animal Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade, Teen, Tween Reads

Paranormals address conservation in Earning My Spots

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

earning-spotsEarning My Spots, by Mark Eastburn, (Nov. 2016, Sky Pony Press), $15.99, ISBN: 9781510707788

Recommended for ages 10+

Sam isn’t having the easiest time in his rural Vermont school. He’s bullied, he’s not terribly popular, and he’s tired of eating roadkill for dinner. Before you call the authorities: he’s also a were-hyena. Looked upon as the scavengers of the animal world (that Lion King movie did his kind no favors, either), the werewolves at school are jerks that constantly gang up on him. The day a new kid, Manny, shows up and sets off Sam’s “shape-shifter sense”, he defends Manny from the wolves and discovers that Manny and his  mom are were-jaguars, and that she’s brought them to Vermont in search of a great hunter. That night, Sam’s family is attacked by were-harpies who take his family, sending Sam and Manny on a quest that will take them to Louisiana and South America, where Sam will meet more hyenas and learn about his true heritage, and discover a plot to overthrow the no-tails – that’s you and me, folks – that are destroying their planet and encroaching on their lands.

Earning My Spots is an interesting and unexpected take on human impact on wildlife and the environment. It’s a paranormal middle grade story that carries a deeper message; using shifter were-animals, we get the a side of the story we don’t usually hear, because shifters can speak for animals and humans alike.

There were ups and downs for me while reading this one. I really liked learning about the hyena heritage – the whole time spent in Louisiana was the highlight of the story for me. Other facets of the narrative, like Sam’s seeming obsession with his and other animals’ bite force (pressure behind their bite) and detailed descriptions of marking his territory, dragged down the flow of the story for me.

If you’ve got paranormal fiction readers, this may draw them in and give them an awareness of environmental conservation. For me, it’s an additional purchase for when my current paranormal collection needs refreshing.