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A SPOON FOR EVERY BITE by Joe Hayes

A SPOON FOR EVERY BITE

adapted by Joe Hayes & illustrated by Rebecca Leer

Pub Date: March 1st, 1996
ISBN: 0-531-09499-5
Publisher: Orchard

The landscapes and lore of the desert are captured in this traditional Hispanic fable about a boastful rich man who is outsmarted by his poor neighbors. The poor couple, whose shack looks out on the mansion of the wealthy man and who own but two spoons, ask him to be the compadre, or godfather, to their child. He agrees; they save every penny to buy a third spoon so they can invite him to dinner. The compadre comes to their home and laughs at their poverty, boasting that he could use a different spoon every day of the year. They mention a man they know who uses a different spoon for every bite. Intent on proving his superior wealth, the compadre bankrupts himself trying to outdo this legendary man, whose ``spoons'' are the tortillas with which he eats his beans. Hayes includes an author's note about his sources, while Leer successfully combines the colors of the southwest with the caricatured figures who piquantly inhabit the tale. An entertaining marriage of pictures and words. (Picture book/folklore. 3-7)