Just a Minute!: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book

by Yuyi Morales

When Grandma Beetle answers the knock at the door, she finds Señor Galavera... read more

When Grandma Beetle answers the knock at the door, she finds Señor Galavera has come to take her with him. “What a skinny gentleman!” she thinks. Grandma’s understatement is obvious—Señor Galavera is a skeleton. If his arrival seems faintly threatening, readers and listeners quickly realize that Grandma Beetle has no intention of going anywhere. She puts Señor Galavera off with a litany of tasks she must complete—one house to sweep, two pots of tea to brew, three pounds of corn to make into tortillas, and so on. As she completes each task, Señor Galavera counts it off in both English and Spanish. Although he’s a gentleman, Señor Galavera’s patience begins to grow thin about the time Grandma’s filling seven piñatas. But by the time she gets to the number ten, the tables have turned completely on Señor Galavera’s intentions. How can he possibly take Grandma with him after he’s been a guest at her birthday party? Yuyi Morales’s original trickster tale highlights numerous Mexican cultural traditions. The vibrant acrylic and mixed-media illustrations are a perfect accompaniment to the lively and humorous story. (Ages 4–7)

© Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2004

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