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Summary
Summary
The Spanish edition of our Mexican-flavored Stone Soup story, Cactus Soup.
When a group of hungry soldiers ride into San Miguel, the townspeople don't want to share their food. They hide their tortillas, tamales, beans, and flour and put on torn clothes to look poor. But the Capitán is not fooled. He asks for a cactus thorn to make some cactus soup, and before long he has tricked the townspeople into giving him salt and chilies, vegetables, and a chicken as well! Whimsical watercolors by Phil Huling add to the humor in this southwestern twist on the classic Stone Soup tale.
Author Notes
Eric Kimmel was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1946. He received a bachelor's degree in English Literature from Lafayette College. He also has a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Illinois.
He was an elementary school teacher and college professor before becoming a full-time writer. He has published over fifty titles, many of which have won state and national awards. His titles "Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins" won the Caldecott Honor Medal, "The Chanukkah Guest" and "Gershon's Monster" won the Sydney Taylor Picture Book Award and "Anansi and the Talking Melon" won the Utah Children's Choice Award.
Kimmel travels nationally and internationally visiting schools and talking about his books and telling stories.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-This Mexican variant of "Stone Soup" calls for a single cactus thorn as its base. The army captain repeatedly teases the poor people of San Miguel with the lament, "Why ask for something you don't have?," seducing the curious folk into adding still more ingredients like chiles, vegetables, and meat to his magical concoction, a yummy comestible that inevitably leads to a fiesta. Huling's elongated watercolor cartoons provide just the right playful, brown-hued visual temperament for the all-round festive deception. The glossary is welcome but, oddly, lacks a pronunciation guide. Even stranger, though, is the postscripted author's note, bizarrely politicizing an otherwise clever cultural retelling (although it gives the artist an opportunity to tack on interesting portraits of Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata). Teachers can follow up with Marcia Brown's Stone Soup (Atheneum, 1947), a wonderful example of the international appeal-and ready adaptation-of timeless tales of human nature.-John Sigwald, Unger Memorial Library, Plainview, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Kimmel (The Runaway Tortilla) sets his version of "Stone Soup" during the Mexican Revolution, inspiring some marvelously atmospheric watercolors by Huling (Puss in Cowboy Boots). Hungry soldiers encounter the poverty-feigning townsfolk of San Miguel and announce that they will make enough cactus soup for the troops and the village. And they make it from an unlikely ingredient-a single cactus thorn. By story's end, the soldiers' leader has used reverse psychology to coax genuinely tasty foodstuffs out of the villagers ("Too bad you don't have onions. Cactus soup always tastes better with onions. But why ask for what you don't have?"), and teaches everyone a delicious and festive lesson about sharing and community. Kimmel, ever the master storyteller, incorporates especially vivid cadences in the words of the wily, world-weary captain; but it's Huling who makes the story sing. His comically exaggerated characters garner laughs without shedding their humanity, while his swooping, elongated lines and radiant colors recall the sun-drenched earthiness and high spirits of early 20th-century Mexican art. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Primary) During the Mexican Revolution, a troop of soldiers rides toward the town of San Miguel; the townspeople decide to hide all their food and discourage the soldiers from staying. El capitan, knowing he must feed his men, requests just one food item: the largest cactus thorn the villagers can find. And so he begins making soup -- although he does yearn for a few additional ingredients. Kimmel, though acknowledging that the tale of ""Stone Soup"" appears in many cultures, offers no documentation for this Mexican version. Still, the fast-moving narrative is rich in Spanish vocabulary and generous with opportunities for the audience to participate in the telling. Huling's bright watercolors create a vibrant setting bursting with yellows, oranges, greens, and browns that reflect the countryside and the hot tempo of the final fiesta. The curved sombreros, the townspeople's rounded figures, and the circular cooking pot suggest a warm community that complements the soldiers, who are modeled after Picasso's whimsical, lanky Don Quixote. Appended with a glossary of Spanish words. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Kimmel serves up the familiar Stone Soup story with a Mexican flavor in this retelling set in northern Mexico during the time of the Mexican Revolution. When the townspeople pretend to be poor, and hide their beans, corn, chilies, tortillas, and tamales from the soldiers, the Capitán offers to make soup for everyone from a cactus thorn. Huling's illustrations, a bit off-putting because of the extreme caricatures of the oversized sombreros are, however, well-suited to the exaggeration of the smoothly told tale. An author's note explains the political and historical background, and a glossary provides English equivalents of the sparely used Spanish terms. A good choice for those seeking variants of Stone Soup, or books with Mexican themes. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 1-3. Kimmel once recast the gingerbread boy as a traditional Mexican foodstuff in The Runaway Tortilla (2000); illustrator Huling's previous picture book, Puss in Cowboy Boots (2002), plunked Charles Perrault's wily cat in the Southwest. How appropriate, then, that the two should team up to create a chile -infused recipe for stone soup. Their version is set in the Mexico of the Zapatistas, and it's a regiment of revolutionaries who suggest cactus-spine soup to villagers made stingy by a mayor who warns that soldiers eat like wolves! But cactus soup, of course, isn't as tasty without salt, pepper, chiles , onions, beans, and a chicken or two . . . But why ask for what you don't have? Soon missing ingredients materialize by the basketful, resulting in a splendid feast for the hungry soldiers and a rousing fiesta for all. Kimmel's relaxed storytelling, accompanied by a glossary for those whose Spanish vocabulary may not encompass camote (sweet potato) and alcalde (mayor), is perfectly matched by the sun-baked watercolors by Huling, whose lanky villagers dwarfed by looming sombreros, swaybacked horses, and bowlegged vaqueros evoke both the exaggerated perspectives of Mexican muralists and the tongue-in-cheek universe of Speedy Gonzales. A savory stew to serve alongside traditional versions of the classic tale. --Jennifer Mattson Copyright 2004 Booklist