Copper is a contented tabby cat, as depicted by author and literacy professor Acuña-Garza. When Mom, his helpful human, brings in fresh spinach from her garden, the odor immediately attracts him. He offers his signal, "Meow." Mom is amazed that he wants to munch greens, but she gives him some. He enjoys the spinach, "then he wants more!" Mom reasons aloud that spinach, being good for people, making skin and eyes healthy, and helping to prevent serious diseases, might help cats, too. Copper listens politely while eating happily.

Later, he begins to dream that he is huge and powerful, can see and hear better, and leap high in the air. Dreams become a reality as he performs amazing feats: he chases away the neighborhood's biggest bully cat, alerts Mom to a suspicious character prowling at their home, and shows her smoke coming from a nearby house so that a major fire is diverted and lives are saved. After Copper saves her from a (harmless) snake, she declares, "Más espinacas para ti esta noche junto con su cena!" ("More spinach for you tonight along with your supper!")

Acuña-Garza, who works with the South Texas Literacy Coalition, has created a special feline who gets nerve and verve from eating spinach. Each page is presented in English, then Spanish, adding extra layers of interest and education to the work. Youngsters learning either language can use this action-packed, colorfully illustrated story as a useful guide to new words and idiomatic expressions. Teachers can also employ the text for entertainment and further depth of bilingual training. Families in which both languages are spoken can appreciate reading Copper's escapades together. And it is clear from the final passages that Acuña-Garza has more intriguing stories to offer about Copper and his spinach-inspired superpowers.

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