Amazon.com Review
"When there's room in the heart, there's room in the house,
except for a mouse." Those are the words that Rosa María remembers (an old saying from her mother) as she's preparing for the birthday of Little Catalina, her soon-to-be 7-year-old granddaughter. She's hoping to squeeze the entire family into her tiny
casita for a fiesta with enchiladas, rice and beans ("no dinner was complete without rice and beans!"), birthday cake, a brand-new swing set, and even a piñata packed with candy.
But in the week before the party, there's so much to keep track of ("I am so busy that I'm forgetting to remember!") that she's just not sure she'll have everything ready. And to top it off, she keeps forgetting to set mousetraps for all the ratones scurrying around her home... or does she? She might not know it yet, but Rosa María lives with some pretty clever mice.
Illustrator Joe Cepeda's forgetful abuelita is a riot as she preps for the party, with her giant red glasses and braided blonde hair like a loaf of bread. Those frisky little rodents also manage to put on quite a show scrabbling around the vibrantly colored casita. Pam Muñoz Ryan's expert timing, rhythmic repetition, and skillfully sprinkled Spanish (with pronunciation glossary in the back) keep the story moving muy rápido, and the party--of course--turns out wonderfully, but with at least one good surprise. Maybe Rosa María misheard her mother's saying about those mice after all. (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes
From Publishers Weekly
Muoz's (Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride) rollicking birthday tale stars one Spanish-speaking grandmother, one very long list of party preparations and a band of enterprising mice. Rosa Maria spends all week getting ready for her seven-year-old granddaughter's birthday party, and each day items for the party keep disappearing. So do the mousetraps she sets each evening to ensure the celebration isn't ruined by uninvited guests. Cepeda's (What a Truly Cool World) full-bleed, sun-splashed paintings show with gleeful candor the missing objects being spirited away by resourceful rodents. Shots from the tops of cupboards or two inches off the floor show the busy creatures sneaking back and forth past Rosa Maria's feet as she cooks and cleans in her big earrings and flashy high heels. But the mice redeem themselves by remembering to fill the pi¤ata with candy when it slips the hostess's mind. The dialogue is rich in Spanish phrases ("Qu‚ boba soy! Silly me"), descriptions of Mexican food and images of a boisterous extended family "Where there's room in the heart, there's room in the house even for a mouse," Rosa Maria concludes. Cepeda wraps up this festive volume by showing how the well-meaning vandals have put their loot to use by throwing a mouse party of their own. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
