The Most Delicious Soup and Other Stories
“Welcome to Villa Verde! This is where we have all our adventures,” is how this inviting, translated picture book from Argentina begins. Short vignettes with detailed illustrations spotlight members of the Villa Verde community, including Coco the crocodile, who adopts a new pet; Luis the turtle, who spends time with his grandmother after school every day; and Gina the duck, who wants one of everything while shopping with her dad. The short stories are illustrated with succinct actions and dialog, varying between a quartet of panels and full-page scenes. The cast of harmonious animal villagers is drawn in a friendly comic style in a muted palette, appreciable on both a large scale and in the small details. For example, a daddy duck carries a sleeping newborn across his chest in a baby wrap, two fish in a pond offer each other a toast with their drinks in stemmed glasses, and an animated frog expresses his drum talents with an extra set of arms. Of course, the compilation includes a story about the most delicious soup! ©2025 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Translated by Rosalind Harvey. Translated from Spanish.
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 4-8
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
Animals (Fiction)
Argentinians and Argentinian Americans
Community
Publisher:
Berbay
Publish Year: 2024
Pages: 28
ISBN: 9781922610614
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Johnson