In a familiar poetic format, award-winning Vamos amusingly illustrates how piñatas are made, while deliberately introducing some Spanish vocabulary and Mexican culture. The story starts as a short rhythmic verse that gradually translates terms. For instance, one page reads, "This is the boy / who shaped the clay / to make the piñata . . ." while the subsequent verses change boy to niño and clay to barro?. Once the hard work of making the piñata is done, the family and farm animals can get down to the main event: a surprise party! Serra??'s lush, warm illustrations in a saturated palette depict the enthusiastic people and animals who help make the piñata, which also will help readers pick up on the definitions of the Spanish words. The lively text and colorful art are engaging on their own, and the additional lessons in language and culture make this particularly useful for a classroom or group storytime. Instructions for making a piñata, as well as a glossary and pronunciation guide, round out this cheery, welcoming offering.

What's a birthday without a piñata? A young girl's family, along with some talented farm animals, get cracking as soon as she leaves for the market. To the traditional rhythms of "The House that Jack Built," clay is gathered, water hauled, paper shredded, etc., until all is ready for the celebration. The girl and the code-switching rhyming scheme from Vamos' The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred (illustrated by Rafael López, 2011) return for more Spanish vocabulary reinforcement. The inclusion of Oaxacan alebrijes indicates the setting is Mexico. As such, it's puzzling as to why "pasta" is used for the glue paste instead of the correct piñata-making term: "engrudo." The European term "farm maiden" is also incongruous to the setting. Barcelona-based Serra's inaccurate illustrations further the sense of inauthenticity. The characters present as Spaniards and not Mexicans, as evidenced by clothing and hats. Plain wood carvings are substituted for the fantastical alebrijes referenced in the text. Papel picado banners are depicted as pennants instead of rectangles. His piñata seems to have clay points rather than cardboard. Even the "brilliant bluebells" the caballo picks are European rather than Mexican. To add insult to injury, the glossary includes Anglicized pronunciations: "sor-PRAY-sah" instead of sor-PREH-sah for "surprise." Such lighthearted touches as the cat ferociously shredding paper cannot mitigate the book's flaws.What's meant to be a cultural celebration is, alas, culturally inaccurate. (piñata instructions, glossary) (Picture book. 4-8)

Like Vamos-s The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred, this companion borrows the cumulative style and cadence of -The House That Jack Built- to introduce a Mexican tradition and Spanish vocabulary. Readers are swept into the anticipatory fervor as humans and animals eagerly pitch in to make a piñata. The latter have the most amusing roles: a goose contentedly mixes flour and water to make a paste, which holds together paper that is feverishly shredded by a cat perched on a rooftop and then bound by rope that a sheep placidly braids. The plot-s accelerating momentum comes to a jarring halt when the characters nap before the piñata is decorated and filled, but the pace picks up again when they awaken to finish the job. The lilting narrative and vivid, mixed-media art by Serra (Inky-s Great Escape) together facilitate the translation as words introduced in English appear in Spanish on the following page, with buoyant, folksy pictures providing the context. Though readers may be puzzled by the community shouting -Sorpresa!- at the very person who helped to organize the party, the energetic verse and whimsical art create an entertaining offering. Ages 4-8. (Jan.)