cover image Fandango Stew

Fandango Stew

David Davis, illus. by Ben Galbraith. Sterling, $14.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4027-6527-8

Davis (Texas Aesop's Fables) offers a Western version of the "Stone Soup" folktale. He uses a "fandango bean" in the place of the stone and sets the action in a town named Skinflint%E2%80%94populated by a collection of pompous misers who fall like ninepins for the sly patter of Slim and Luis. "This stew smells good, muchachos," Luis says. "Not as tasty as that batch over in Dog Leg Gulch%E2%80%94but good." When Slim says, "It can't be helped, amigo. We had potatoes in Dog Leg Gulch. This is Skinflint," a lawyer goes scurrying for potatoes. Repeated motifs ("Chili's good,/ so is barbecue,/ but nothing's finer than/ fandango stew!") and the mix of cowboy lingo and Spanish words add to the book's read-aloud charm, while Galbraith's (The Three Fishing Brothers Gruff) spreads more than do justice to the story. He crowds his work with handsome period details%E2%80%94brick buildings with false facades, handlebar mustaches, Slim's 10-gallon hat, and Luis's sombrero. The light that falls on all these objects is peculiarly chilly and fresh, adding to the innovative staging of this classic tale. Ages 3%E2%80%93up. (Mar.)