Carlos and the Cornfield / Carlos Y La Milpa De Maiz (Carlos Series) (English, Multilingual and Spanish Edition) - Hardcover

Kindergarten-Grade 3?Carlos longs for the beautiful red pocket knife that he admires in Se?or Lopez's store. In order to earn money, he agrees to help his father plant el maiz (corn). Papa tells him to only put three seeds in each hole so the plants will have plenty of space to grow. Carlos despairs of ever finishing and decides to fill the holes with four, five, and six kernels. He gets his knife but when corn begins to grow, the boy realizes what a big mistake he has made. Instead of telling Papa, he sets out to fix things himself, with humorous results. As she did in Carlos and the Squash Plant (Northland, 1993), Stevens shows her insight into how a child's mind works. Youngsters will appreciate and sympathize with Carlos as he learns the lesson of "You reap what you sow." Arnold's oil paintings capture the mood of the story and reflect the Hispanic background of the Southwest. The page layout is consistent throughout, with the English passage at the top and the Spanish translation below. The format of the text and pictures makes this an ideal choice for story time in English or Spanish.?Maria Redburn, Collier County Public Library, Immokalee, FL
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 5^-8. Before Carlos plants seed corn, Papa warns him, "Remember, `Cosechas lo que siembras'--You reap what you sow." But Carlos is so excited about earning money for a shiny, red pocketknife that he rushes and plants too many seeds in the middle rows, leaving the last two rows unplanted. When the field starts to sprout, Carlos sees his mistake. He begs the kindly store owner to take back the now used knife and buys seed corn to plant the last two rows. All is discovered at harvest time--for instead of yellow corn seed, Carlos had bought and planted blue--and Mama serves Carlos' favorite blue corn cakes for breakfast. Inspired by Latin American folk artists and muralists, Arnold's full-page oil paintings reflect the golden warmth of the southwestern setting. Within the context of a loving Latino family, a young boy learns a universal lesson about personal responsibility. Bilingual and complete with a recipe for blue corn pancakes, this well-crafted sequel to Carlos and the Squash Plant (1993) is richly satisfying. Annie Ayres