Chile ristras adorn kitchens and dishes all over New Mexico. In the winter, when the nights grow longer and the winds blow stronger, chiles season meats and stews bringing New Mexico spice to every hungry taste bud. But chiles didn't always grow in New Mexico, and Ana Baca tells a special fable about Benito and the chiles that crawled all over his family's simple homestead.  Benito's mother sends him to the county fair in the hopes of their cow winning the first place prize. This would give them money to buy some seeds for the crop, but the cow misbehaves and they must leave the fair. Suddenly, Benito is stopped by a mysterious man with a peculiar bird on his shoulder. The man offers Benito some powerful seeds in exchange for his cow, which Benito quickly accepts. But when only uncontrollable weeds grow from the ground, Benito begins to feel foolish.  Even the neighboring farmers begin to complain that the relentless weeds are killing their crop. How will the community survive? Will the rapidly growing weeds ever bear fruit to help Benito?

This charming bilingual fable explains the origins of the all-important chile.  Chiles ristras adorn the kitchen and dishes all over New Mexico. In the winter, when the nights grow longer and the winds blow stronger, chiles season meats and stews bringing New Mexico spice to every hungry taste bud. But chiles didn’t always grow in New Mexico, and Ana Baca tells a special fable about Benito and the chiles that crawled all over his family’s simple homestead.  Benito’s mother sends him to the country fair in the hopes of their cow winning the first place prize. This would give them money to buy some seeds for the crop, but the cow misbehaves and they must leave the fair. Suddenly, Benito is stopped by a mysterious man with a peculiar bird on his shoulder. The man offers Benito some powerful seeds in exchange for his cow, which Benito quickly accepts. But when only uncontrollable weeds grow from the ground, Benito begins to feel foolish.  The neighboring farmers begin to complain that the relentless weeds are killing their crop. How will the community survive? Will the rapidly growing weeds ever bear fruit for Benito?

Listen to Vienna Rose read Chiles for Benito to you.  A marvelous example of the magical encounter between a child and books that we wish for all children.

School Library Journal : Kindergarten-Grade 2-One September morning, young Cristina and her grandmother pick bright red chiles and string them to dry. When the child is dismayed at the bushels and bushels that await them, her abuela tells her the story of great-grandfather Benito and his bizcochitos m gicos. In the tradition of "Jack and the Beanstalk," the young Benito trades the family cow for some magic seeds. After much tribulation, he eventually succeeds as the first chile farmer, and all ends well with the returned cow, spicy food, and a happy community. Accardo's pen-and-ink and colored-pencil illustrations have a fresh yet classic look. Clear colors, great expression, and satisfying use of detail make the art appealing to the eye and a perfect match for the tale's fanciful tone. The text, as good in Spanish as it is in English, reads aloud well despite its length. Francesc Bofill's Jack and the Beanstalk/Juan y los frijoles magicos (Chronicle, 1998) presents a stylish version of the traditional story, but collections can easily accommodate both titles. The appended recipe for red chile sauce is a plus for budding cooks.

Booklist : K-Gr. 3. Cristina learns to string red chiles into ristras. To pass the time, her grandmother tells Cristina about her great-grandfather, a stranger and his talking bird, and some magical seeds. Accardo's bright, cartoonlike illustrations aptly fit the fable quality of the bilingual book, and the nonliteral Spanish translation is strong, seemingly by a native speaker. Not a must purchase, but a competent effort that focuses on family and tradition in the Southwest.