Mice and Beans

by Pam Muñoz Ryan

"When there's room in the heart, there's room in the house, except for a mouse." Those are the words that Rosa María remembers (an old saying from her mother) as she's preparing for the birthday of Little Catalina, her soon-to-be 7-year-old granddaughter. She's hoping to squeeze the entire family into her tiny casita for a fiesta with enchiladas, rice and beans ("no dinner was complete without rice and beans!"), birthday cake, a brand-new swing set, and even a piñata packed with candy.

But in the week before the party, there's so much to keep track of ("I am so busy that I'm forgetting to remember!") that she's just not sure she'll have everything ready. And to top it off, she keeps forgetting to set mousetraps for all the ratones scurrying around her home... or does she? She might not know it yet, but Rosa María lives with some pretty clever mice.

Illustrator Joe Cepeda's forgetful abuelita is a riot as she preps for the party, with her giant red glasses and braided blonde hair like a loaf of bread. Those frisky little rodents also manage to put on quite a show scrabbling around the vibrantly colored casita. Pam Muñoz Ryan's expert timing, rhythmic repetition, and skillfully sprinkled Spanish (with pronunciation glossary in the back) keep the story moving muy rápido, and the party--of course--turns out wonderfully, but with at least one good surprise. Maybe Rosa María misheard her mother's saying about those mice after all. (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Family, Fiction, Cultural, Food

Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

About the author

Pam Muñoz Ryan is the author of the New York Times Best Seller, ECHO, a 2016 Newbery Honor Book, and winner of the Kirkus Prize. She has written over forty books for young people—picture books, early readers, and middle grade and young adult novels. She the author recipient of the NEA's Human and Civil Rights Award, the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, the Willa Cather Award, the Pura Belpré medal, the PEN USA award, and many others. Her novels include Esperanza Rising, Riding Freedom, Becoming Naomi León, Paint the Wind, The Dreamer, and Echo. She was born and raised in Bakersfield, California, holds a bachelor's and master's degree from San Diego State University and lives in north San Diego county with her family.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rosa María prepares for her granddaughter Catalina's seventh birthday celebration in this amusing picture-book from author Pam Muñoz Ryan and illustrator Joe Cepeda. Checklist in hand, she creates the delicious food, purchases the necessary gift and piñata with candy, and makes the house ready. Every day, finding the mousetraps she has set are missing, she sets a new one, thinking she forgot the day before. But then, when she does forget something - to put the candy in the piñata - she finds that it has been done for her. Could it be that she has remembered her own mother's saying - "When there's room in the heart, there's room in the house, except for a mouse" - incorrectly...?

A sweet story about a loving grandmother and family matriarch and her preparations for a large family gathering, Mice and Beans pairs an entertaining text and bright, colorful illustrations. The text is mostly in English, with a smattering of Spanish words that are glossed at the rear. The contrast between the story, which is told from Rosa María's perspective, and the artwork, which depicts the mice that live in her house, and observe everything she does, creates a humorous reading experience, and the conclusion, in which she decides that there is room in her house for some murine residents, is heartwarming. That said, although I do appreciate the message here about generosity and tolerance, a part of my adult self simply couldn't stomach the idea of accepting mice (or any other rodent) being around one's food. Perhaps this is because I live in an area overrun by the little things. I'm all for anthropomorphic mouse (and even rat) tales, but this one was a little uncomfortable. Leaving that aside, it is a sweet grandmother story, and is one I would recommend (with the caveat that if you find the idea of mice around your food unappealing, you might want to give it a miss) to readers looking for picture-books featuring Mexican-American families, birthdays, and family get-togethers.

[Clairissa D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mice and Beans is a children's book about a grandmother named Rosa who is in the process of planning her granddaughters seventh birthday. From the very beginning of the story you realize that she is not a fan of rats. Each day she plans for a different part of the party and each day she sets out mouse traps for the Mice. As she goes forth she begins missing little things and her mice traps are disappearing. She becomes forgetful and does not put the candy in the pinata. The day of the party she realizes what she has done and quickly goes to stop the party but miraculously the pinata is hit and candy falls out. With the assistance from the Mice she was able to throw her granddaughter the best birthday party imaginable because they helped her by filling the pinata. This reading can be useful in teaching students how to make predictions about their readings, teaching elements of a story , and also introducing repetition as well as a new language a few of the words are written in Spanish.

[Sunday · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite pieces of children's literature to read aloud for preK-1st just for the JOY but also for the thinking required of the readers to make sense of what's happening. While the words follow the story of the grandmother Rosa María's daily preparations for a party (piñata, enchiladas, cake, candles, and of course "no dinner was complete without rice and beans!"), there is a second story happening in the illustrations--the story of another family (of mice) preparing for a party as well. (Thank you, Ryan & Cepeda, respecting our young readers as worthy of the challenge!) Lots and lots of room for young students to MAKE INFERENCES and have fun conversations-- mice traps keep disappearing, a candle disappears, a few feathers from the piñata, Rosa María forgets something but the mice don't ;). RICH LANGUAGE -- Muñoz uses Spanish words and provides clues as to what the words mean (e.g., Rosa María orders a cake from the pastelería). After the mice help Rosa Maria big idea - how there's room for everyone, even mice, in our lives. Again - lots of room for conversation!

[Leta Huffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe Cepeda's oil paint illustrations are beautiful and rich with color! The story is repetitious so young children can follow it easily, and the story is adorable. The story follows Rosa Maria as she prepares for her grandaughter's birthday party throughout the week. This book shows us how hispanics get ready for birthday parties, by what kinds of food and games are present. In the back there is a glossary that shows pronunciations of Spanish words that were sprinkled throughout the text. I liked that these words were immersed in the text, because often times you could tell what the Spanish word meant since it was in context. Pam Munoz Ryan would also follow the Spanish word with the translation in English too.

[Kristen Herzog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mice and Beans by Pam Munoz Ryan is a fun read about a grandmother who is trying to get ready for a birthday party. As she is preparing she is carefully trying to avoid mice in her house. The funny part about this story is that with whatever she is preparing, the mice come and take a little of it for themselves. As the story continues and grandmother finishes preparing for the party she forgets to fill the piñata. Fortunately for her the mice have taken care of this for her and once she discovers that this is what has happened she decides it might not be too bad having mice in her house after all. Cute story for all ages and wonderfully colorful illustrations. Definitely a must read for any youngster.

[Alea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a silly little story about a grandmother preparing a birthday party for her grandchild, and the mice who helped in ways that the grandmother hadn't noticed until the end. The illustrations are fun and vibrant, sometimes hilarious, and show things from many clever angles. To other readers, it may have been a little too busy and distracting. There are repeated scenes where the mousetraps disappear and the grandmother thinks she is just losing her mind. I found the story hilarious and understandable actually. In the end, the grandmother rewarded the mice for all their hard work, and never set a mouse trap again.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a silly little story about a grandmother preparing a birthday party for her grandchild, and the mice who have their own plans in the background. The illustrations are fun and vibrant, sometimes hilarious, and show things from many clever angles. There are repeated scenes where the mousetraps disappear and the grandmother thinks she is just losing her mind. I found it very amusing and the ending has a great payoff, especially if you take in all the details.

[Bvlmc Buchanan Verplanck Elementary School · Rating 4 out of 5]

When granny begins to plan her granddaughters birthday, she thinks she’s losing her mind as all the things she buys or gathers together to make her signature dish disappear. But then she learns the truth and life in her kitchen and home will never be the same. A fun, silly book written with a mix of English and Spanish.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an adorable bilingual text. The author frequently employs a bilingual text in her other works as well. This is the same author who wrote Esperanza Rising and Becoming Naomi Leon.

Today I read this picture book to the ISD students, and they loved it! It's lovely to share this book during National Hispanic Heritage Month.

[Brianna Boyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book about a forgetful Grandmother who is planning a party for her Granddaughter. The book focuses on family from the Hispanic culture and provides a plethora of new words to learn.

[Amanda Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is just another fun book to read to the students. It gives a little information about a cultural background but just talks about how the mice is trying to provide for his family as well.

[Bianca Orellana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute and sweet story and displays Hispanic culture beautifully!

[Lauren Roberts]

Mice and Beans might be one of the cutest children's stories. IT's about a grandma who is getting everything ready for her grandkids birthday party. She starts doing everything a week in advance like making the enchiladas and beans, going to the store, setting up the presents, getting the piñata and filling it up. Every night before she goes to bed she sets out mousetraps because she thinks she has a mice problem. The mice always take the traps at night and they keep helping grandma with her to do list for the party even though she doesn't know. In the end she realizes that the mice are helping her and she never sets another mouse trap. This story would be great to utilize in the classroom as a multicultural book because it is about the hispanic culture and there are Spanish words and sentences incorporated into the book.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute and fun story! The addition of Spanish vocabulary is a nice touch to help readers learn a bit of Spanish. The artwork is adorable.

[J-Lynn Van Pelt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story of an old woman, Rosa Maria, preparing for a big family party. The readers spend a week with her as she finds the piñata, bakes the rice and beans, and sets up mouse traps that mysteriously disappear. While she plans her party, the mice that live in her house plan their party as well. And when Rosa Maria forgets to stuff the piñata, the benevolent mice quickly come to her rescue. Intermixed throughout the text are Spanish phrases, and the back of the book has a glossary and pronunciation guide. The author blurb explains that the story is based on Ryan’s memories of “big noisy family gatherings at her grandma’s house.” And the main character is named after the illustrators mother who says he “remembers every birthday party from his childhood looking and feeling just like the one in this book.” The pictures are in bold, bright colors and capture both the love of Rosa Maria and the mischief of the mice.

[Eric Summers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A grandmother is preparing a birthday party for her youngest grandchild Catalina. Unfortunately, she is a bit scatter brained and sometimes forget things, and on top of that, she keeps losing things. Fortunately, the mice who share her home are not just freeloaders, they lend a hand when needed.

This is a book that you cannot blow through quickly to kill time in your class if you want your kids to enjoy it. It is a fun read-aloud, if you make sure to put plenty of heart into the reading. If you are not the most dramatic storyteller, there are better books to choose from.

The illustrations in the book are good, but the color pallet sometimes makes it hard to distinguish details in objects that are close to each other or overlapping on another.

[Ashleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun read aloud for young children. It incorporates lots of spanish vocabulary and has a glossary at the end to review the words that were used. I think that Pam Munoz Ryan chose great words to include though because it would be a great way for children to guess what the word means in context. I love the illustrations in this story! In order to understand the humor of this story and to truly understand what is going on, you are forced as the reader to engage with the illustrations. The mice are decorated in a very sweet way. In regards to the multicultural aspect of this story, I think Joe Cepeda does a great job illustrating to reflect a hispanic experience, but is not stereotypical in his work!

[Kandice Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rosa Maria wanted to throw a birthday party for her youngest grandchild Catalina. She was excited and prepared for the party all week. Every night she would set a new mouse trap in her house because she thought that she had forgotten to set one out each night. In reality, the mice were stealing her mouse traps each night and were helping her set up for the party without her even knowing. After the party and before Rosa Maria goes to bed she notices that all her muse traps are missing. She then realizes that there were mice living in her house! She also realizes that they were the ones who had helped her with the party. That night and on he never set a mouse trap again! Children would love the mystery in this book along with the bright colors and illustrations.

[Kira Dickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copyright: 2001
Number of Pages: Unknown
Book Format: Hardcover
Reading Level: PreK-5; level N
Genre: Fiction
Lit requirement: Pattern #2

Summary:
It is Catalina's birthday on Saturday and her grandmother Rosa Maria is going to throw her a birthday party. When she starts to get things ready some of the items disappear along with all of the mousetraps, which she sets every morning.

Response:
The family is hispanic and likes to have a fiesta. I love the mice and how they keep taking the mousetraps away and hiding them. It is a book that is basically about a party being plan and the steps Rosa Maria takes to host it. I would recommend this book because it does have some culture in it like enchiladas and pinatas.

[Lila · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there is room in the heart, there is room in the house, but not for a mouse. At least, that is the saying of the grandmother is this book. She is preparing for her granddaughter’s birthday party. Family, food, games, and gifts are on her list of things to do, not to mention catching those pesky mice. Mice keep stealing her traps and other items that are for the party. In her haste, she forgets to fill the piñata for the party, but mysteriously the candy is there. Who were her helpers? The mice! Abuelita learns that there is room in the house for one more, even a mouse! A sweet picture book from the author of Esperanza Rising that depicts the importance of family and celebration.

[Lu Benke · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot to like about this book: the bright pink house with a small crowded yard and the mismatched furniture, the grandma that wears froo-froo slippers and strings lines across her kitchen to hang the ironed napkins, the traditional menu for a birthday celebration and the traditional over-crowded house during the celebration. The authenticity of this book representing the house of a fun-loving Latina grandmother is wonderful and the grandmother is the epitome of resiliency, but there is no suggestion in the story nor in the illustrations of dealing with poverty. So, yes to a great multicultural book and examples of reliency, but no to a book about a child in poverty.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rosa María spends a week getting ready for her granddaughter's birthday party to which everyone is invited...except mice. But as the week goes on readers will become aware that the mice are already at Rosa María's. Will they ruin the party, or will they save the day?

This provides a nice introduction to some Spanish vocabulary and Mexican traditions for birthdays. Kids can put their sleuthing caps on and try to figure out what the mice are up to the whole week, and practice making predictions of whether or not they are going to be trouble. Rosa María is a fun, old lady character to follow around for a week.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is almost identical to Chato and the Party Animals. I like this book because it incorporates both English and Spanish. The only difference is that in this book you don't have to use a dictionary or have to look closely at the context clues to figure out the meaning of the Spanish words. The character says a word or sentence in Spanish, but for the most part always says the English word/s right after.

This book would be great to use to help English speaking students learn Spanish, or Spanish speaking students learn English.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a fan of mice, but must admit this is a cute story. I liked how it presents the days. It's a bit long, but reads well. It's a cute story young children enjoy. A great deal of rich vocabulary, with some guidance in the back. Illustrations are colorful, text size and color are varied, making it more appealing to young viewers. I recommend reading this, although it's not a rich piece of literature I'd promote adding to a collection. Then again, not everything can be as amazing as Alice in Wonderland.

[Tara Gale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is also a wonderful book by Pam Munoz Ryan. This is a book I would read to a future classroom although there wouldnt be any curriculum behind it. I was not the biggest fan of the pictures but all and all they weren't bad. I am glad that I read this book in relations to my author study. Pam Munoz Ryan talks often of her grandmother and I feel that the main character in this book muxt have been inspired by her. That was a very intresting connection to make.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was really neat how the text was written with color and style. I like the concept of the double story. The text talks about Grandma while the pictures tell the story of the mice. There is a great repeat pattern for students to chant along with at the end of each page. This book provides a great opportunity for teaching inferring or predicting. The pictures give hints about what will go missing the following day!

[Amber Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the story of a grandmother who is planning a party, however she has some uninvited guests who make the planning easier. The mice end up helping the grandma plan the party and do many of the tasks that the grandmother forgot to do. This book uses repetition (and every night she turned off the lights and went to bed) and specific details to engage readers. I would use this in my classroom to teach repetition and how to use specific details.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows that it doesn't matter if you have mice as long as you and your family are together everything else will fall into place. You could use this book for a spanish lesson because it has many spanish words in it. You could use this to show children how to figure out the meaning of a word by looking at teh sentences around it.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author is a favorite so that is probably why I have this book from the 2003 NABE (National Assn. for Bilingual Education) Conference. It is a delightful book sprinkled with Spanish words and reflecting the Hispanic culture. It's a book to put in our Esperanza Library--in the Founding Board members' section.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rosa Maria is planning for her granddaughter's birthday...perhaps some mice are as well.

A happy story with helpful mice and colorful illustrations. Rosa Maria is as kind as you'd like her to be.

Practice reading ahead if you don't speak Spanish. And if you don't, "No importa!" -- a pronunciation guide is include in the back of the book for the 15 or so Spanish words used.