Don't Say a Word, Mama / No Digas Nada, Mama

by Joe Hayes, Esau Andrade Valencia (Illustrator)

Overview

An amusing tale, about sisterly affection and motherly appreciation. You can never have too much love for your family, but you can have too many hot chiles!

Un cuento divertido, sobre el cariño entre hermanas y el aprecio maternal. ¡Nunca puedes tener demasiado amor por tu familia, pero puedes tener demasiados chiles picantes!

Author Joe Hayes and artist Esau Andrade team up to deliver an affectionate tale about siblings and familial love. Two sisters try to outdo each other with generous gifts. Each new offering from one sister to the other is a secret to everyone except their mother who is tasked with keeping quiet. This fun read aloud will have readers crying out, "Don't say a word, Mama!" Until, of course, she does.

El autor Joe Hayes y el artista Esau Andrade se unen para ofrecer una historia afectuosa sobre los hermanos y el amor familiar. Dos hermanas intentan superarse entre sí con generosos regalos. Cada nueva ofrenda de una hermana a la otra es un secreto para todos, excepto para su madre, que tiene la tarea de guardar silencio. Esta divertida lectura en voz alta hará que los lectores griten: "¡No digas una palabra, mamá!" Hasta que, por supuesto, lo hace.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781935955450
Publisher:	Lee & Low Books
Publication date:	09/24/2013
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	134,341
Product dimensions:	10.78(w) x 8.52(h) x 0.10(d)
Lexile:	AD550L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Joe Hayes is one of America's premier storytellers. He grew up in a small town in southern Arizona where he started learning Spanish from his classmates. As Hayes got older, he began reading the work of folklorists and anthropologists and gathering the old stories from the Southwest region. His books have received the Arizona Young Readers Award, two Land of Enchantment Children's Book Awards, the Texas Bluebonnet award, and the National Storytelling Network Talking Leaves Award. He lives in New Mexico.

Esau Andrade Valencia comes from a family of Mexican folk artists. His paintings are included in the collection of the Museum of Latin American Art as well as in the Downey Museum of Art in California. His books for Cinco Puntos Press include A Perfect Season for Dreaming / Un tiempo perfecto para soñar and Don't Say a Word, Mamá / No digas nada, Mamá.

Editorial Reviews

…perfect for readers of either language, or for language learners. Hayes balances humor with sentiment, and abundance with a concern for privation in a way that imbues the notion of harvest with a sense of real value.

The New York Times - Sarah Harrison Smith

* "Storyteller Hayes uses repetition, parallel structure and short sentences masterfully, unspooling a sweet family tale that never turns saccharine. . . Andrade Valencia contributes highly saturated paintings that combine a folk aesthetic with magical realism, playfully depicting anthropomorphized vegetables marrying and having babies as the sisters marvel at the bounty. This book overflows with affection—and you can never have too much of that." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Hayes balances humor with sentiment, and abundance with a concern for privation in a way that imbues the notion of harvest with a sense of real value. . . —Perfect for readers of either language, or for language learners." — The New York Times

"A funny, affectionate tale of two sisters who let their mother in on their secret gift-giving mission. . . This bilingual tale of sisterly generosity by master storyteller Joe Hayes (Ghost Fever) brims with humor and love, while Esau Andrade Valencia's Mexican folk art matches the siblings' affection and playfulness. . . Author and artist celebrate family and abundance in a story that will be a favorite read-aloud at harvest time or anytime." — Shelf Awareness

"Children will enjoy the back and forth and will laugh at Mamá's predicament. . . Culturally relevant in its depiction of Latina characters, the book makes an excellent read-aloud to a broad audience. Hayes's many fans will enjoy this story as will those looking for tales about families and goodwill among siblings." — School Library Journal

Best Books - Kirkus Reviews
Tejas Star Reading List - Texas Library Association (TLA)

From the Publisher

★ 2013-09-01
Mamá has always been proud of her loving daughters, even when they've grown. Rosa, her husband and their three children live "in a little house just down the street from her mother." Sister Blanca lives alone "in a little house just up the street from her mother." One year, each sister plants a garden, growing tomatoes, corn and "good hot chiles." Each woman gives their mother some and tells her that she is going to give her sister half her yield--but: "Don't say a word, Mamá!" In the night, each unknowingly passes the other with a basketful and leaves it in her sister's empty kitchen. In the morning, each is astonished at the enormous pile of tomatoes and gives still more to her mother, who accepts them with a shrug: "you can never have too many tomatoes." This is repeated with the luxuriant crop of corn, but Mamá at last spills the beans--or rather the peppers--as she can't manage a similar surplus of chiles. Storyteller Hayes uses repetition, parallel structure and short sentences masterfully, unspooling a sweet family tale that never turns saccharine. His own Spanish translation appears alongside the English text. Andrade Valencia contributes highly saturated paintings that combine a folk aesthetic with magical realism, playfully depicting anthropomorphized vegetables marrying and having babies as the sisters marvel at the bounty. This book overflows with affection--and you can never have too much of that. (Bilingual picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews