<< Back to previous page

"Arroz con leche (Rice Pudding)" by Jorge Argueta

Author:

Jorge Argueta

Publisher:

Groundwood Books

Argueta, Jorge. Arroz con leche (Rice Pudding) Groundwood Books, Toronto, ON, 2010.

Arroz con leche or Rice Pudding is an endearing bilingual picture book about a boy making his favorite food with the help of his mother.  This story begins with our main character, who is unnamed; emphasizing how much he enjoys all different kinds of rice, but most namely, arroz con leche - rice pudding.  He then takes us through the steps of making this flavorful dish, from picking out the right pot to enjoying the final creation with his family.  The author even includes asterisks next to the steps of the recipe which require adult supervision. 

            Students will enjoy reading this book, or having it read to them, because it will bring back memories of a time when they themselves enjoyed arroz con leche and will perhaps be inspired to try the recipe out at home.  In addition to developing an appetite for rice pudding, students will also enjoy the bold and colorful illustrations that make each step of the recipe visible and entertaining. 

With beautiful comparisons between ingredients and objects in nature such as;  ‘salt stars and sugar snow are falling from your hand’ and wonderful similes like; ‘The cinnamon sticks float like rafts on the pot’s sky sea.’ it is sure to be a book that can be beneficial to students when used in language arts.  Not only that, but the recipe is written in steps such as first, second, etc. that it could easily be used to teach organization in writing.

While some of the elegance of the story is lost during the English translation, it was still a book that my students enjoyed hearing - in both languages.

Heather Nighbor, Librarian – EBSOLA Elementary School, Kenosha, WI

Click here for a Word document view of this review.