Good Stranger's Sancocho Surprise/El sancocho sorpresa del buen desconocido (Bilingual Edition)

A stranger comes to a rural town, hungry and alone. He asks for help, but only a young girl, looked down upon by her community, is brave enough to offer it. Together they make sancocho-a traditional Dominican soup-using a secret recipe the stranger has brought from far away. Seemingly out of nothing, the pair creates a miraculous banquet, and along the way, they teach the villagers a lasting lesson about generosity, and overcoming fear. A re-telling of the classic tale "Stone Soup", here set in the Dominican Republic, The Good Stranger's Sancocho Surprise is as timely as ever, and will be enjoyed by children, parents, and teachers alike. This re-telling distinguishes itself through its authentic details of Dominican landscape and culture, its subtle integration of the Christian stories of "The Loaves and Fishes" and "The Good Samaritan," and its gentle yet pointed treatment of how societies welcome (or do not welcome) those characterized as "others," including immigrants. As such, it will have special appeal to children and adults of Latin American heritage or Christian affiliation, as well as those interested in folk tales, fairy tales, and multicultural books in general. And, by casting the "others" as its heroes, it offers a refreshing counterpoint to the contemporary rhetoric of scapegoating, division, and exclusion.

A re-telling of the classic tale Stone Soup, set in the Dominican Republic, The Good Stranger's Sancocho Surprise is a School Library Journal top pick for teaching social-emotional learning (SEL) Excellent --ALA Booklist Mandy Really liked it! Bilingual picture book. This book is a cross between The Good Samaritan parable and The Stone Soup folktale. After an earthquake takes a man's house and family, he left for the nearest village to find some food. The priest, the village mayor, and several other unnamed characters rejected the man. But one little girl, known for singing in strange rhymes, stopped to hear his plight. She asks her parents for a large pot and three stones to make the basis of the soup. As others come by they find themselves contributing a little something to the pot. And soon enough the soup started from stones filled the bellies of the people throughout the village. The Dominican Republic provides the colorful background and ingredients for both the story and the soup within it. The message of coming together in kindness rather than fearing each other comes through very clearly. This story is a bit long to read in its full bilingual format, but the classic tale is a welcome addition to bilingual collections. Proceeds will support Education Across Borders

John J. McLaughlin was born in San Antonio, Texas, and grew up in Virginia and Washington, DC. He attended Catholic schools, including Gonzaga College High School in DC, where the Jesuits encouraged his gift for writing and his passion for social justice.His debut novel, Run in the Fam'ly (University of Tennessee Press, 2007), won the 2006 Peter Taylor Prize for the Novel.In 1999, John founded the Pentecost Project, a service-learning program in Dominican communities he has now known for ten years. It is now part of Education Across Borders, the nonprofit organization which John directs. Through this program--which is spiritually-rooted, relationship-centered, and justice-oriented--over 300 individuals from the US have had a life-changing encounter with Dominicans and Haitians in poor rural communities. The program has built over 50 houses, a rural clinic (and supplied it with medicine), a church, sanitation facilities, a park site, and many green spaces in Dominican communities living in extreme poverty. Education Across Borders also supports scholarships for talented Dominican students from these communities; at present, more than a dozen students are enrolled in pre-professional university studies, well on their way to breaking the cycle of poverty and dependency in which so many Dominican youths are trapped. EAB, in its mission to "transform communities through relationship," sponsors Dominican-Haitian interchanges and dialog, to work toward healing wounds of racism and nationalism, both in the DR and the US. John lives with his wife and two children in Seattle, where he is a member of St. Therese Parish; he serves on its Social Justice Commission, and volunteers in its winter overnight shelter. Artist Ruddy Núñez was born in San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic. He illustrated The Best Gift of All by awarded author Julia Alvarez, and has worked with several advertising agencies, newspapers, publishing companies and magazines. He currently lives in the Dominican Republic where he works as an illustrator, painter, sculptor and digital animator for various media.