October's BOM: Arroz con leche/Rice Pudding

Arroz con leche/Rice Pudding:
Un poema para cocinar/A Cooking Poem
by Jorge Argueta

The LBBC’s recommendation for October’s Libro del Mes, is Jorge Argueta’s Arroz con leche/Rice Pudding.

Tomorrow, on MommyMaestra, I am writing about the importance of cooking with your children. To read up on how use your time in the kitchen to benefit your children, stop by our sister blog.

So it is fitting that this month’s Libro del Mes should also focus on children and recipes. And what better dish to cook together than one that is found throughout most Spanish-speaking countries? Arroz con leche is Argueta’s latest title from Groundwood Books. In it, he shares a recipe for this beloved rice pudding, which makes it easy for families enjoy the contents of this book beyond its pages. Told from the point of view of a young boy who loves rice, Argueta’s poetic descriptions are filled with imagery…

"Luego el agüita desaparece.

La cocina está llena de magia.

La olla está llena de espuma, olas y nubes.

En la olla hay

un cielo y también un mar.

El arrocito se ha convertido en peces

y pajaritos blancos.

Globos panzoncitos

flotan en el agua.

"Soon the water disappears.

There is magic in the kitchen.

Foamy waves and clouds turn the pot

into sea and sky.

The rice has become fishies

and white birds.

Chubby little bubbles

float in the water."

Brazilian artist Fernando Vilela’s illustrations remind me of some of Dr. Seus’s works. The one-dimensional images use simple color combinations and float on the page.

To learn more about Jorge Argueta’s other titles, visit his website.

Written with full text in both English and Spanish. Parents can use the book as a guide for making some delicious arroz con leche, and then take the opportunity to talk about the subjects of cooking, family, poetry, food, and the senses.

If you would like to buy your own copy of Arroz con leche/Rice Pudding, please click here. Or you can follow the link in our sidebar to the LBBC’s on-line store. We have both new and gently used copies available.