Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book
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Kathryn Tvaruzka, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire -- School Library Journal, 4/17/2008
Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book. video or DVD. 12 min. with tchr’s. guide. Nutmeg Media. 2007. video: ISBN 1-933938-43-9, DVD: ISBN 1-933938-34-X. $49.95.
PreS-Gr 2–Based on the award-winning book (Chronicle, 2003) by Yuyi Morales, this simple, original trickster tale is set in Mexico. Senor Calavera, a skeleton, knocks at Grandma Beetle’s door while she is preparing for her birthday party. Realizing that “Death” has come to take her, Grandma keeps delaying him by saying “just a minute” as she continues to do one chore after another. Senor Calavera sits in a chair counting the completed tasks from one to ten in English and Spanish. When Grandma Beetle’s nine grandchildren arrive to help her celebrate her birthday, Senor Calavera is pleased to be a guest as well. The tale is crisply narrated by the author whose native accent adds authenticity to the tale. Traditional guitar music plays softly in the background, accentuating Morales’s beautiful, vibrant illustrations. The DVD contains two wonderful bonus features for classroom use: “Count It Out in English and Spanish,” a short number activity, and “Sharing My Story,” a conversation with the author in which she describes why and how she writes and illustrates books for children. A fine addition to school and public library collections.
