This wonderful book tells the story of a big happy family who eat a big lunch together every day and enjoy each other’s company. The warm colors and creative perspectives (overhead, up close, from afar) of the pictures kept our readers eager to turn the pages to see what was next.
The book has a terrific, comforting rhythm in its predictable but never boring structure — it follows one week where each day one family member is too busy to come to the table and the other family members feel sad.
Qué pena! What a pity! It’s not as fun to eat lunch when someone is missing — but everything comes back to normal with a joyous reunion (and the arrival of a new family member!) at the end.
The children were engaged by and curious about the traditional Hispanic food and Spanish words interwoven in the story: paella, empanadas, gazpacho etc. Some foods were familiar and others were brand new.
We made lots of connections talking about trying new food and learning about other students’ cultures.
The children love to sing the days of the week!
Seeing the crabs reminded them of a celebration on our island of Martinique. It’s the equivalent of Thanksgiving and happens on Easter Monday, when every family eats crabs and rice. We wondered and talked about other cultural traditions that include family meals and special food.
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