A Spoon for Every Bite by Joe Hayes

Hayes, Joe.  A Spoon for Every Bite.  New York:  Orchard Books, 1996.

In this Hispanic folklore, a poor couple can only afford two spoons to use for their meals, while their wealthy neighbor and compadre (godfather) boasts that he can afford to use a different spoon for every bite.  To prove this, the rich man sells all of his property and livestock in order to buy all of the spoons in the surrounding towns.  Upon realizing the impossibility to afford that many spoons, the poor couple takes the rich man to an Indian pueblo.  The man inside is using a tortilla as his spoon; the spoon his people have been using since the beginning of time.

The Illustrator, Rebecca Leer, uses thick and l o  n g lines to create the characters’ facial expressions.  She also uses rough texture in the scenery to demonstrate the difficult living conditions in this Mexican town.  Subdued colors and a small range of values are used to express quiet, solemn moods, which are also representative of the times.

This book is age appropriate and also informs readers of many aspects of the Hispanic culture.  Hayes incorporates Spanish words into the text, clearly defining the meaning within the context.  He also integrates the somewhat hidden message of, “Do not envy your neighbor; be thankful for what you have”.

 

Other Resource:  Cullinan, Bernice, and Lee Galda. Literature and the Child. 5th ed. Wadsworth, 2002.