Eva y la tarta. (Ella Takes the Cake)
Reviewed by Cristi Jenkins, Access & Programs, Fort Vancouver Regional Library, WA -- Críticas, 5/15/2008
D’Amico, Carmela & Steven D’Amico.
tr. by Lucía Álvarez. illus. by authors. Spain: SM. 2007. unpaged. ISBN 978-84-675-2019-4. $18.95.
PreK-Gr 3–Little Eva wants nothing more than to help her mother in the pastry shop. The little elephant sweeps the floor, but she is not big enough to use sharp knives or put things in hot ovens. However, when the deliveryman forgets to pick up a huge cake, her mother allows her to deliver it using a pull-cart attached to her bicycle. The trip does not go as planned. Eva encounters Belinda, who first insists on squeezing into the cart with the cake and then volunteers Eva to haul Mr. Sneed’s stack of heavy library books. When it is time to pedal uphill with the heavy load, Belinda jumps off the cart. Despite traversing the hill without any help—using her lucky hat to drop off the books and then chasing after the cart when it breaks loose from her bike, Eva is able to deliver the cake intact. Striking, colorful acrylic-and-pencil illustrations set the story in a coastal town replete with palm trees, dirt roads, white buildings, and red-clay roofs, using a style and combination of hues reminiscent of Curious George books. The artistic layout and strong Spanish translation will draw young readers into Eva’s world and her engaging adventure. Recipient of the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award in 2005, this book is another winner in the series. Recommended for school and public libraries, as well as bookstores.
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