Eight Animals Bake a Cake

by Susan Middleton Elya (Illustrator), Lee Chapman (Illustrations)

Eight animals--"ocho animales"--get together to whip up a cake in this book that features easy words in English and Spanish, making it ideal for non-Spanish speakers as well as Spanish speakers learning English. Full-color illustrations.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Mathematics, Science, Cooking, Cultural

32 pages, Hardcover

First published July 22, 2002

About the author

Susan Middleton Elya is the author of many books that cleverly incorporate Spanish vocabulary into lively verse. She is originally from Iowa and now lives in Northern California.

Reviews

[Rose Rosetree]

For a preschooler, having eight animals working together to bake a cake may not seem like a stretch. But what are they to do when a "disaster" befalls that precious cake? Now that adds a gripping element to this tale.

Ruined cake being far more real to a child than how well a bird can fly while carrying a large sack of flour!

This is one of those delightful bilingual books, mostly in English, but with plenty of Spanish words thrown in for good measure. Besides appearing in context, the Spanish words are paired with their English translations at the top and bottom of each boxed illustration. Very clever!

Also excellent are the rhyming couplets by author Susan Middleton Elya, and those FABULOUS illustrations by Lee Chapman.

FIVE STARS. This book is simply superb.

[Brianna]

I chose this book because it has english and spanish words and I think it would be good for kids where english isn't their first language and they are still learning. This book would be good for them to read with some ease and help them become more confident with reading. I personally like this book because it is a fun story and a good read for kids.

[Myah Rusco]

I chose this book because of the use of both Spanish and English. I think that it is important for students to recognize languages other than their own. It was also a great book that discussed working together, sharing, and friendship. All of these themes are important within the classroom.

[Hannah Lady]

I enjoyed reading this book because it gives the students a look into mathematics with literature. I really enjoyed reading this book because it was a fun way to bake a cake, and see how many ingredients actually go into a cake.

[Miss Sarah]

A toddle and up book where eight animals each bring a cake ingredient to bake a cake together. heavy focus on ingredients and other key words in Spanish.

[Leah]

Cute!

[Kelly]

It was okay.

[Savannah H]

Picture Book
Great illustrations, very colorful; includes rhyme; has many Spanish words and English translations

[Shaunterria]

Used for a number 8 storytime and even though my Spanish is not great by any means, the native Spanish speakers in my audience appreciated my efforts. Recommended for preschool through kindergarten.

[Danielle Foster]

This is a good, definite multicultural book. It introduces many Spanish words but with the text it makes it possible for the kids to figure out the words on their own. The pictures are very fun and bright. They also help with figuring out what the Spanish words mean. The story was very simple so that a child could figure out the spanish words along with understanding the story. This would be a good book to use if a someone was trying to introduce Spanish or even just different languages in general.

[Helen Kumpel]

This book is for: ESOL, K-5
Topic: Chemical/Physical Changes
Math/Science Activity: "Adding ingredients" Have students measure out the ingredients and actually make the cake
Also, you could have the students in groups and each of the groups measures out a specific ingredient inaccurately. (Four cakes. One with too much sugar. One with too much flour. One with not enough eggs. One with no oil.) Bake it. Students will see that by not accurately measuring the ingredients they will not produce a yummy cake!)
Reflection:
This fiction bilingual book was written by a Spanish teacher and geared towards young children. The glossary in the beginning of the book gives the Spanish word first and then the English definition. Each page rhymes and every Spanish word is bolded in the text. Also, at the top and bottom of each picture on the page, the English word is used first and then the Spanish word to the right of it. The pictures are very descriptive and allow children to understand the story even if they are hearing the Spanish words for the first time. At the end of the book there is a recipe for the cake which the eight animals made. A great lesson to follow this book would be to allow the children to make the cake and label the ingredients with both English and Spanish labels to enforce their new vocabulary. Also, using this book with ELL students when introducing rhyming may make the lesson more comfortable for them if they are familiar with some of the words on the page.

[Melinda Garman]

This fiction bilingual book was written by a Spanish teacher and geared towards young children. The glossary in the beginning of the book gives the Spanish word first and then the English definition. Each page rhymes and every Spanish word is bolded in the text. Also, at the top and bottom of each picture on the page, the English word is used first and then the Spanish word to the right of it. The pictures are very descriptive and allow children to understand the story even if they are hearing the Spanish words for the first time. At the end of the book there is a recipe for the cake which the eight animals made. A great lesson to follow this book would be to allow the children to make the cake and label the ingredients with both English and Spanish labels to enforce their new vocabulary. Also, using this book with ELL students when introducing rhyming may make the lesson more comfortable for them if they are familiar with some of the words on the page

[Kathryn Hogan]

This book was wonderful. It had rhyming, math, and a mixture of Spanish. This book had the words not only in English but the same word in Spanish and it is clearly seen and understood in the story. The book is well crafted and would be a wonderful read for a fourth or fifth grade student. I would recommend this book to any teacher and this book could even be offered in an ELL inclusion classroom.I would love to have this book in my own classroom and use it to all of its advantages. In math the book counts and has images of the items that are being put into the cake. This is great because the students can see the images as well as the words. This would honestly be a great read a loud for any grade and can hit some many different lessons from it. I absolutely loved this book!

[Haley Bergman]

This book is absolutely adorable. Eight animals come together to bake a cake, and each animal provides an essential ingredient. When the it is time to take the cake out of the over, the animals fight over who gets to take it out. The cake ends up falling on the floor and breaking into pieces. The book is written in English, but there are Spanish words sprinkled throughout each page. When a Spanish word is used, the English meaning is included in the illustration on the page; usually in the border. The interesting plot makes this a good book to read to elementary students to introduce Spanish vocabulary.

[Lbrown107]

This book was wonderful. It had rhyming, math, and a mixture of Spanish. It is a counting book with illustrations big enough to use as a read aloud and have the students following along, counting the ingredients being put into the cake. The book is well crafted and would be a wonderful read for a first grade class. I would recommend this book to any teacher and this book could even be offered in an ELL inclusion classroom. I would love to have this book in my own classroom and use it to all of its advantages.

[Anna Francesca]

This is my daughter's new favorite book. From an early literacy perspective, I like how it includes the concepts ofcounting and naming animals. I also love how it incorporates Spanish into the story in context so that it is clear what it means. The bright illustrations are engaging. Mostly, though, I like hearing my daughter start to tell the story aloud back to me after having heard the story multiple times. :-)

[Renee]

Summary:Eight animals add ingredients to make a cake with unexpected results. Includes Spanish words, a glossary, and recipe for pineapple upside-down cake.

In rhyme

Would be great for a preschool story time but I didn't know how to pronounce all of the Spanish words. For that reason I couldn't make it flow nicely. I don't think I would do well with this as a read aloud unless I heard some of these words and could pronounce them successfully during the reading.

[Lea]

Simple spanish vocabulary words are woven into this story about friends struggling to cooperate. I am upgrading this one more star because more than two years after we first read it my son asks for the animales and weaves the plot of animals baking together into his own imaginative play and stories, so clearly it struck a chord with him.

[Angela]

Grade: k-5
Topic: Chemical and physical changes

This is a great book for ELLs and non spanish speakers alike. The students can also use a recipe to bake their own cake (or something similar). The students can measure out the ingredients and then discuss what changes will take place when it bakes. This will also help with students who are learning how to follow recipes.

[Antonia]

This is a great beginner Spanish book for any teacher that is not bi-lingual. It has a fun plot and story line. The pictures are vibrant and fun. The story rhymes and connect each point in English and Spanish. It also adds the ideas of cooking and gives a basic recipe in the back of the book to try with your students in the class.

[Brigid]

This is the first Elya book we read to our son and it was magical for us. Our sugar jar still has "Azucar" as a label from reading this book. Read what happens when these eight animal friends get together to make a cake. They each provide an ingredient and the author adds a dash of Spanish vocabulary into the mix. Extremely fun to read--great rhymes and cadence.

[Katarina Miller]

This book really incorporates two different languages effectively. The Spanish is not overwhelming, but enough to teach a variety of words. It also teaches a lesson on taking a mistake and making it into something better.

[Michelle]

Great book for introducing the Spanish language. I read it constantly to 3 year old my daughter. Susan Middleton Elya does a wonderful job weaving Spanish within the English text of the book. Great read aloud book!

[Jailene Soto]

Eight animals get together to make a cake. The book has a mixture of English and Spanish words. Spanish ESOL children in my class will love this because they can make sense of what certain words mean. I could use this book when we talk about nutrition.

[Anthony]

Eight animals decide to bake a cake. Each animal brings a needed ingredient to bake the cake. While removing it from the oven the cake is dropped, but quick thinking by the cow saves the cake, and the day. There is a recipe the back of the book for the cake the Eight animals ended up enjoying.

[Maria]

Cute bilingual book to learn animal names.

[Susan Klemetti]

Cute little book written in Spanglish about how to bake a cake.

[Sierra Watts]

This is a good book to teach children about teamwork. It also teaches them a few words in Spanish.

[Mckinley]

bilingual food words

[K.C.]

We didn't not particularly care for the use of spanish within the story.