About the Holiday
Launched in 1998 by the American Cheese Society, National Goat Cheese Month promotes the delicious variety of cheeses made from goat’s milk. With less fat, cholesterol, and calories than cheese made from cow’s milk, goat’s milk cheese—or Chevre—offers delectable options for all types of recipes and cooking. Goat cheese has been enjoyed since around 5000 BC, when the Greeks first domesticated the goat. Since then, goat’s milk cheese has been embraced by people around the world. To celebrate, add your favorite type of goat’s milk cheese to your meals. If you’ve never tried goat’s milk cheese, now’s the time!
El Chupacabras
Written by Adam Rubin | Illustrated by Crash McCreery
“This all happened a long time ago, en una granja de cabras. / Todo esto ocurrió hace mucho tiempo, on a goat farm.” There, a young girl named Carla lived with her father, Hector. While Hector tended to the goats, Carla tended to her bicicleta. Every day, they were up early—con el sol—to feed and milk the goats. Hector even sang to the goats. One night, while they were sleeping, Hector and Carla heard a strange sound that sounded like “THHHBBBBTTZFFFFF!.”
Image copyright Crash McCreery, 2018, text copyright Adam Rubin, 2018. Courtesy of Dial Books for Young Readers.
“A la mañana siguiente, one of the goats había desaparecido. / The following morning, una de las cabras had disappeared.” Carla took off on her bicycle to find it. What she discovered was “a goat pancake”—“una tortita de cabra.” As soon as Hector saw the goat, he knew El Chupacabras, the goat sucker, had struck. While legend had it that el chupacabras was a frightening monster, the reality was that he was “a tiny gentleman”—“un caballero diminuto.” Mostly he enjoyed churros dipped in a mug of chocolate, but sometimes he just had a hankering to suck a goat.
Image copyright Crash McCreery, 2018, text copyright Adam Rubin, 2018. Courtesy of Dial Books for Young Readers.
As she was strolling her cart of flowers past the farm, the flower lady heard Hector’s fury. She offered him a bag of magic dust that could protect his goats. “Try a little,” she said. Hector doused the goats with the magic powder. When he gave the empty bag back to the flower lady, she gasped. “I said un poquito!” Just then the goats began to grow…and grow…and grow. With each step they destroyed more and more of the farm.
Image copyright Crash McCreery, 2018, text copyright Adam Rubin, 2018. Courtesy of Dial Books for Young Readers.
Carla jumped on her bicycle and rode through the forest calling “¡Chupacabras! ¡Socorro!”—“Goat Sucker! Help!” The dapper little creature suddenly appeared, asking what had happened. Carla told him about the gigantic goats, and el chupacabras was happy to help. They reached the town just in the nick of time. One by one, el chupacabras sucked each goat down to size. And the goat sucker? He was fat and happy.
In the end, everything turned out well. Hector and the flower lady fixed the damage in the town, and “Carla spent many happy years on the farm with her father and his new friend. / Carla pasó muchos años felices en la granja con su padre y su nueva amiga.”
Image copyright Crash McCreery, 2018, text copyright Adam Rubin, 2018. Courtesy of Dial Books for Young Readers.
I picked up this book with joy in my heart after reading just the first blended language line. Adam Rubin’s mix of English and Spanish/Spanish and English sentences immediately immerses readers in this bilingual story in a way that they can clearly understand the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases. Part mystery, part melodrama, and complete laugh-out-loud pandemonium, Rubin’s retelling of the legend of El Chupacabras will have kids begging to hear or read the story again and again. Phrases like “goat pancake” and “goat sucker” will illicit extended giggles as will the description of the diminutive creature at the center of the action.
Image copyright Crash McCreery, 2018, courtesy of Dial Books for Young Readers.
Accompanying Rubin’s storytelling to maximum effect are Crash McCreery’s mix of realistic and humorous illustrations. While Hector and Carla tend to their neat, quiet goat farm, the wide-eyed goats warily look around, hide out in a leafless tree, and suffer the indignities of a blast of magic powder and, of course, the necessary goat sucking that returns them to normal size. The first glimpse of the goat pancake is a showstopper, and the portrayal of Hector carrying home the poor goat draped in his arms like a folded blanket is hilarious. The fact that the goat still has the wherewithal to eat Hector’s handkerchief is comic gold. But this is the story of el chupacabras, and the hairy, scaly, and monocled “tiny gentleman” is a rib-tickling delight.
Brilliant bilingual writing and sublime silliness make El Chupacabras an exceptional addition to home and classroom libraries. The blended sentences will spark enthusiasm for language learning during fun and funny story times.
Ages 4 – 8
Dial Books for Young Readers, 2018 | ISBN 978-0399539299
Discover more about Adam Rubin and his books on his website.
National Goat Cheese Month Activity
Hungry Goat Coloring Page
Goats are famous for their appetites! The goat in this printable coloring page is happy to be munching on flowers. Can you give the scene a little color?
You can find El Chupacabras at these booksellers
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound
Picture Book Review
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