Abuela's Birthday Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Chapter 1: The Piñata

  Chapter 2: Cat Chaos

  Chapter 3: The Big Mess

  Spanish Glossary

  Talk It Out

  Write It Down

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Explore More

  Copyright

  Back Cover

  Chapter 1

  The Piñata

  Sofia carried a big bag across the yard to her cousins’ house. The bag held everything they needed to make a piñata.

  “Do you really think Abuela will like this?” Hector asked. “Isn’t she too old for a piñata?”

  “No one is too old for a fun birthday party,” Sofia said.

  Sofia pulled newspapers, balloons, and paint from the bag. Bella the cat came over and tried to get in the bag.

  “Silly gata!” Sofia said. “There is nothing here for you.”

  “What do we do first, Sofia?” Hector asked.

  “That’s easy. We tear the paper into strips,” Sofia said.

  She handed newspaper to Manuel, Alonzo, and Hector.

  Together, they made a big pile of paper strips on the kitchen floor.

  “¡Perfecto! Now we need flour and water to mix for the paste,” Sofia said.

  “Here’s the flour,” Hector said. “It’s really heavy. ¡Ayúdame!“

  Sofia shook her head. She couldn’t help him. She was too busy blowing up a balloon for the middle of the piñata.

  Hector started to pour the flour into a bowl by himself.

  POP! Sofia’s balloon broke.

  Hector jumped and dropped the entire bag of flour. It landed right on top of Bella.

  “Oh, no!” he yelled.

  Chapter 2

  Cat Chaos

  Before they could stop her, Bella ran through the big pile of newspaper strips. She was getting flour all over! Little pieces of paper flew everywhere, too. It was a big disaster.

  “Grab her!” Sofia yelled.

  They reached for Bella over and over. But she slipped through their hands in a cloud of flour dust every time they got close.

  “Mamá is going to be really mad,” Alonzo said.

  They had to get Bella cleaned up before they got in trouble.

  “Where are the kitty treats?” Sofia asked.

  Hector grabbed a little pink bag from the cabinet. He quickly gave it to Sofia.

  “Ven aquí, gata,“ Sofia said quietly as she waved a treat in the air.

  Sofia slowly walked toward the bathroom. The hungry cat followed her right in.

  Bella left a trail of white paw prints all over. But that was a problem for later.

  “¡Rápido! Close the door,” Sofia said to Hector.

  Sofia filled the tub with water. Bella jumped into Hector’s arms.

  “What are we going to do?” Hector asked. “Cats don’t like to take baths.”

  Sofia picked up a big brush by the sink.

  “Does she like this?” she asked.

  “¡Sí!“ Hector said. “Mamá brushes her once a week.”

  Hector and Sofia sat down on the floor. They took turns gently brushing Bella.

  Alonzo and Manuel banged on the bathroom door. “Let us in!”

  All the noise woke Tía Carmen from her nap.

  “¿Qué pasa?“ Tía Carmen yelled from the kitchen.

  “Oh, no. We’re in big trouble,” said Hector.

  Chapter 3

  The Big Mess

  Sofia and the boys ran to the kitchen. Flour, newspaper strips, and kitty tracks covered the floor. Tía Carmen did not look happy. And she hadn’t even seen the bathroom yet!

  “What a disaster!” she said. “What were you kids doing?”

  Sofia told Tía Carmen that they were trying to make a piñata.

  “That is a nice idea, but next time you need to ask first,” Tía Carmen said. “And now you have to clean up.”

  Sofia and her cousins cleaned everything. When they were done, Sofia asked Tía Carmen for more newspaper and flour.

  “¿Para qué?“ Tía Carmen asked, looking confused.

  “A new piñata for Abuela!“ Sofia said.

  Tía Carmen laughed. “Silly Sofia. I don’t think so. You’ll just make another mess.”

  “No, we won’t,” Sofia said. “I promise!”

  “We really want Abuela to have a piñata for her birthday,” Alonzo said. “Please?”

  “¿Por favor?“ Hector said.

  Tía Carmen sighed.

  “Okay. Grab all the stuff you need, and go out on the patio,” she said. “I’ll keep Bella inside.”

  This time, Tía Carmen helped make the paste mixture. No flour spilled, and all the paper strips were pasted on the balloon. Not one got in the house.

  Sofia’s big sisters, Luisa and Elena, came over to help paint the piñata. Everyone worked extra hard to make it special.

  “We need to put candy inside,” Elena said.

  “Everybody gets candy,” Sofia said. “Let’s do something more unique for Abuela.”

  “Something she loves,” Hector said. “Like playing cards.”

  It was true. Abuela loved card games. All the grandchildren spent hours at her house playing Go Fish and Old Maid.

  “Great idea!” Sofia said. “She will love it! This will be one party she will never forget.”

  On the day of the party, Tío Miguel hung the piñata on a tree limb. Abuela put on the blindfold and swung the stick first. Then everybody else took turns.

  Abuela laughed when Sofia finally broke the piñata.

  “Playing cards! ¡Gracias!“ Abuela said. “I love my party!”

  “And we love you,” Sofia said. “¡Feliz cumpleaños, Abuela!”

  Spanish Glossary

  Abuela —

  grandma

  ayúdame —

  help me

  feliz cumpleaños —

  happy birthday

  gata —

  female cat

  gracias —

  thank you

  mamá —

  mom

  para qué —

  for what

  perfecto —

  perfect

  por favor —

  please

  qué pasa —

  what’s wrong

  rápido —

  quick

  sí —

  yes

  tía —

  aunt

  tío —

  uncle

  ven aquí —

  come here

  Talk It Out

  What is your favorite moment in the story? Why?

  Sofia and her cousins should have asked permission to make the piñata. Why is it important to ask permission and follow the rules?

  Do you think the mess was the cat’s fault or Sofia’s fault? Why?

  Write It Down

  Write a paragraph describing your dream birthday party. Who would you invite? What would you have for a theme? What kind of presents would you like?

  Sofia loves her grandma. Write a paragraph about someone you love.

  Pick three Spanish words or phrases from the story. Write three sentences using what you learned.

  About the Author

  Jacqueline Jules is the award-winning author of twenty-five children’s books, including No English (2012 Forward National Literature Award), Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Takes Off (2010 CYBILS Literary Award, Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Honor Award, and ALSC Great Early Elementary Reads), and Freddie Ramos Makes a Splash (named on 2013 List of Best Children’s Books of the Year by Bank Street College Committee).

  When not reading, writing, or teaching, Jacqu
eline enjoys time with her family in Northern Virginia.

  About the Illustrator

  Kim Smith has worked in magazines, advertising, animation, and children’s gaming. She studied illustration at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, Alberta.

  Kim is the illustrator of the upcoming middle-grade mystery series The Ghost and Max Monroe, the picture book Over the River and Through the Woods, and the cover of the forthcoming middle-grade novel How to Make a Million. She resides in Calgary, Alberta.

  FUN DOESN’T STOP HERE!

  Videos & Contests

  Games & Puzzles

  Friends & Favorites

  Authors & Illustrators

  Discover more at www.capstonekids.com

  See you soon!

  ¡Nos Vemos pronto!

  Sofia Martinez is published by

  Picture Window Books, a Capstone Imprint

  1710 Roe Crest Drive

  North Mankato, MN 56003

  www.capstonepub.com

  Copyright © 2015 by Picture Window Books

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Jules, Jacqueline, 1956- author.

  Abuela’s birthday / by Jacqueline Jules ; illustrated by Kim Smith.

  pages cm. – (Sofia Martinez)

  Summary: Sofia and her cousins are making a piñata for their grandmother’s birthday party, but when Bella the cat gets involved, chaos ensues.

  ISBN 978-1-4795-5775-2 (library binding)

  ISBN 978-1-4795-5779-0 (pbk.)

  ISBN 978-1-4795-6207-7 (ebook pdf)

  ISBN 978-1-5158-8758-4 (ebook)

  1. Hispanic American children — Juvenile fiction. 2. Birthday parties — Juvenile fiction. 3. Piñatas — Juvenile fiction. 4. Grandmothers — Juvenile fiction. 5. Cousins — Juvenile fiction. 6. Cats — Juvenile fiction. [1. Hispanic Americans — Fiction. 2. Birthdays — Fiction. 3. Parties — Fiction. 4. Piñatas — Fiction. 5. Grandmothers — Fiction. 6. Cousins — Fiction. 7. Cats — Fiction.] I. Smith, Kim, 1986- illustrator.

  II. Title.

  PZ7.J92947Ab 2015 [E]—dc23

  2014025327

  Designer: Kay Fraser

 

 

  Jacqueline Jules, Abuela's Birthday

  Thanks for reading the books on GrayCity.Net