by Ana Baca, Anthony Arrcardo (Illustrator), Carolina Villarroel (Translator)
 
Everyone loves the taste of the puffed pillows of fried bread known as sopaipillas, whether they're drizzled with honey or sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. But most people, young Cristina included, don't know about this Southwestern treat's magical origins, or how it got its name.
 
One hot summer morning, Cristina's abuelita promises to teach her how to make the tasty fried bread and explain how she knows that making sopaipillas will bring rain! Long ago, Cristina's great-grandfather Benito was desperate. His crops were dying because it hadn't rained for months. One day, exhausted and weak from working the fields, Benito watched in amazement as a scarecrow came to life and begged him to help bring rain. The worried scarecrow claimed to know how. But could a scarecrow--and pieces of dough--really bring rain to the dry and dusty fields? Could Benito really save everyone's crops?
 
And so Benito--and many years later his great-granddaughter Cristina--learned about the pillows of bread known as "soup catchers" that, like clouds, catch rain drops and bring them down to earth.
Benito's Sopaipillas / Las sopaipillas de Benito is a magical bilingual picture book for children aged 3-7 that celebrates a delicious staple of Southwestern cuisine. And for those children who want to test the magic of the sopaipillas, a recipe is included in English and Spanish.