The children's book, Mice and Beans by Pam Munoz Ryan is about an elderly lady with a big heart named Rosa Maria. The story begins with Rosa Maria planning a party for her granddaughter's birthday celebration. Rosa Maria has a small house and a large family but was not concerned about them all fitting because she believed something her mother used to say, "When there's room in the heart, there's room in the house, EXCEPT for a mouse." She has one week before the party will take place and each day leading up to the party Rosa Maria does something different to prepare for it. Rosa Maria also sets a mouse trap each night before she goes to bed to prevent her home from getting mice. However, the next day something she needs to prepare for the party is missing and the mouse trap is gone. Rosa Maria dismisses the missing items and says they are not important. She thinks that she forgot to put the mouse trap out due to her old age. She then sets a new mouse trap and goes to bed. Items and the mouse traps go missing every day for the rest of the week. Finally, on the day of the party, the pinata that Rosa Maria bought for her grandchildren was hanging up and about to be swung at. Rosa Maria suddenly realized that she forgot to fill it with candy. However, by the time she tried to say something it was too late. The pinata had been swung at and it cracked open. Much to Rosa Maria's surprise, candy fell out of the pinata! This seemed mysterious and odd to her but she was pleased it made her granddaughter so happy. After the party ended Rosa Maria noticed a mess in the cupboard and realized that she must indeed have mice. She wondered if perhaps they were the cause for the missing things as well as the helpful hands who filled the pinata. She suddenly realized that she had her mothers saying wrong this whole time. She remembered that it actually was, "When there's room in the heart, there's room in the house, EVEN for a mouse." Rosa Maria was grateful for the helpful mice and never set a mouse trap again.
This book is written by an insider author and is an excellent piece of Latin American multicultural literature for children. Ryan's inspiration for this book was based off of her own memories of her aunts, uncles, parents, siblings, and 23 first cousins all being packed into her grandmothers small house. Food common to Mexican American culture is represented in the story such as enchiladas, rice, and beans. Other food that is not specific to this culture is also mentioned adding to the story the realistic idea that Mexican Americans eat food that is not only specific to their culture. Ryan portrays a large close-knit family in this story that is accurate to her own experiences as well as is something that is commonly valued in the culture. Spanish words are mixed in with the English text throughout the story. Sometimes the meaning of the word is given. For instance when Rosa Maria realizes she forgot something she says, "Que boba soy! Silly me, I must have forgotten." This clearly allows readers to see that "que boba soy" means "silly me" in English, however it does not take away from the flow of the text. Some words are introduced one time and then repeated without explanation. This does not make the text difficult to read but instead adds to the authentic portrayal of the culture. The added Spanish words also gives the sense that although living in America, the traditional language of the culture is still valued. The illustrations are also done by an insider to this culture. Joe Cepeda creates lively and colorful illustrations. He portrays the characters positively by making them look happy and healthy. The pictures of the food and the many photos of various family members on the wall add to the books authentic portrayal of the culture.
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