Sancocho Del Sabado: Saturday Sancocho ANNOTATION
Maria Lili and her grandmother barter a dozen eggs at the market square to get the ingredients to cook their traditional Saturday chicken sancocho. Includes recipe.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Every Saturday, Maria Lili looks forward to making chicken sancocho with her grandparents, Mama Ana and Papa Angelino. One Saturday, they discover there is nothing in the house except eggs, so Maria Lili and Mama Ana take the eggs and set off to the village market to get what they need.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Maria Lili's mouth is watering for the stew she makes with her grandparents every weekend. But on this particular Saturday, it seems that the aroma of cilantro mingling with cassava, green plantains, vegetables and chicken will exist only in the girl's imagination. There is no money and nothing in the larder but a dozen eggs, Papa Angelino announces. Mama Ana's reply is cryptic: ``Then we will use the eggs to make sancocho.'' How the grandmother transforms the eggs into a savory supper is a case study in bartering genius. Whisking Maria Lili off to the open-air market, Mama Ana deftly moves among the tented stalls, where her hard-nosed but friendly trading eventually garners all the necessary ingredients. Torres's (Subway Sparrow) text bounces with make-a-deal energy, while her light-drenched, calm watercolors convey a serene domesticity. A recipe for sancocho, prepared throughout Central and South America, rounds off the tale. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)
Children's Literature - Judy Katsh
To make their delicious Sancocho, Grandmother and Maria Lili must use their wits to collect the traditional ingredients. They travel to the market to buy or trade for the items they need for the stew. And as they do, readers go along for an armchair tour of an open-air market in South America. A recipe for the traditional dish is included.
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