Reviews

Award-winning picture-book author Wood refreshes a classic folk tale with this Spanish language inflected rendition in which Little Red Hen or gallinita roja craves fresh guacamole and needs help harvesting the ingredients. She asks her friends—an armadillo, a snake, and an iguana—for help, but they all refuse to assist (except in eating the guacamole). Without any assistance, she rightfully gets to choose what goes in her recipe, and she decides to add an unexpected ingredient, jalapeño. When the guacamole is ready, her unhelpful friends happily devour it, but they soon catch on once they realize how spicy gallinita roja's guacamole is. González's soft, bright illustrations feature pleasantly rounded creatures with expressive faces, and throughout Wood seamlessly integrates the unitalicized Spanish terms, which are all clear, thanks to contextual clues as well as a glossary. Other backmatter includes fun facts about the history of guacamole and a variety of recipes, including gallinita roja’s. —Booklist

© Susan Wood 2024