Review Detail

It’s Sunday, and that’s the best day, because that’s when a little girl and her family gather to eat menudo, a traditional Mexican soup. Unfortunately, playtime between the cousins and their dogs gets rambunctious, and Abuelito Esteban’s special bowl of Menudo breaks. No need to fret, though; they will just make a new batch.

What I Liked: Menudo Sunday does a great job of teaching children to count up and down from 1 to 15 in Spanish and English. This book achieves this through the buildup to the breaking of the Menudo bowl, and then through the creation of the new batch. The illustrations throughout this book are warm and inviting, making you feel as if you have entered someone’s home. It was great to see what the day looked like as they were preparing for the Menudo and what happened when the bowl broke. It was refreshing to see how everyone reassured the children that things would be okay, and then they all worked together to make their new batch.

There are several Spanish words sprinkled throughout this book that are later defined in a glossary. The few Spanish terms that are included will be easy for a non-Spanish speaker as the images and context clues will be able to keep the story moving along. The author also includes a note and tips for hosting their own Menudo Sunday, which sounds like a fun tradition to start with your own family.

Final Verdict: Menudo Sunday is a fun book that helps children learn to count from 1 to 15 in both English and Spanish in a way that keeps young audiences' attention. Children ages 3 and up will enjoy listening to this story, especially children who share in these traditions, and can relate to what the weekends look like when they are with their families. Adults will also enjoy passing down these memories with their children as they teach them how to count.