The Piñata That the Farm Maiden Hung was written by Samantha R. Vamos and illustrated by Sebastià Serra is a lively story about how to build a birthday piñata. There is a cast of delightful characters from the boy who shapes the clay to the horse that brings the water, to the goose that stirs the paste with flour, to the cat that tears the paper and so on. When the party scene has been decorated and the piñata has been formed the farm maiden hangs it from a tree.
The piñata sways in the breeze as all of the helpers including the farmer and the sheep fall asleep ---a job well done. But wait, they have forgotten to fill, decorate and close the piñata! Children will enjoy this last-minute romp to finish the surprise.
The tale, told in a cumulative pattern, is music to the ears of young children. The story builds toward a joyful surprise party and contains the added pleasure of the Spanish words for the animals, the ingredients, the farmer, the boy, and the farm maiden. The repetitive style is perfect for youngsters being introduced to a bilingual story.
The illustrations, done in colored pencil and Photoshop, are full of happy details of community members all helping each other. The back material contains a glossary of Spanish words used to tell the story and a complete list of step by step instructions as to how children can build their own piñata.
The Piñata That the Farm Maiden Hung was written by Samantha R. Vamos and illustrated by Sebastià Serra is beautifully-designed for youngsters 4-8 years of age (Charlesbridge, 2019).
Questions for The Piñata That the Farm Maiden Hung
Study the illustration preceding the book’s title page and answer the following questions by using the visual information from the picture: Who could this little girl be? Where could she live? What is she looking at and why? How old is she is? What sports does she like? What is she writing in the notebook on her desk? Now, give her a name.
The niño in this picture book makes a colorful banner of tissue paper flags to decorate the party sight. Try making such a banner for your room or backyard by cutting out flags and decorating them. Gather tissue paper, colored paper, scissors, crayons, and string. Use your imagination to create flags with a variety of colors, shapes, and designs.
Let your parents and grandparents know who the major people and animals are in this cumulative story by using the Spanish word for each. Include the young boy, the horse, the goose, the cat, the sheep, the farmer and the farm maiden on your list. How to pronounce each Spanish word is shown in The Glossary at the back of the book. Parents and grandparents can help you as well as join in on the fun!
