The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred

By Samantha R Vamos, Rafael López (Illustrator)

Farm animals unite to create a festive rice pudding surprise.

3.9/5 Goodreads · 968 ratings

32 pages

$17.95Save 5%

In stock. Also at Amazon.

Bookroo's summary

Join a farm maiden and her lively animal friends as they collaborate to craft a delightful arroz con leche for a fiesta. With each page, Spanish words weave into the tale, making language learning a joyous adventure. As the ingredients mix and the excitement builds, discover the vibrant celebration of tradition and community. Will their efforts result in a delicious success? Dive into this colorful story and find out!

From the publisher

This is the story of how the farm maiden, farmer, and five farm animals all work together to make a surprise recipe (rice pudding or arroz con leche) that they serve at a fiesta. With the familiarity of “The House That Jack Built,” this story bubbles and builds just like the ingredients of the arroz con leche that everyone enjoys. Cleverly incorporating Spanish words, adding a new one in place of the English word from the previous page, this book makes learning the language easy and fun. Rafael Lopez covers each page with vibrant, exuberant color, celebrating tradition and community. Back matter includes a glossary of Spanish words and a recipe for arroz con leche—perfect for everyone to make together and enjoy at story time.

At a glance

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 32
Reading age: 4–8
Audience: Picture

Themes & topics

Books about animals Books about farms Books about cooking Books about food Books about farm animals

Good to know

Stories behind the story

Where did you originally get the idea for this book?

The idea for "The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred" popped into my head one morning while making pancakes. Lacking two ingredients, I thought how much more fun it would be if I was a farm maiden living on a farm and the cow was kind enough to provide a cup of fresh milk and the hen offered an egg. I had a pot on the stove and I thought of the line, "This is the pot that the farm maiden stirred." I liked the words and the rhythm reminded me of the familiar British nursery rhyme, "The House That Jack Built." Like the nursery rhyme, "The Cazuela That The Farm Maiden Stirred" is a cumulative tale in which the action and dialogue build as a few Spanish words repeat. I never finished making pancakes that morning, but I did manage to write a first draft of my story!

For readers who can't stop at one