Join Issy and Poppy, two Spanish rescue greyhounds, on a light-hearted investigation of Dad’s crisps and Club chocolate biscuits. A bilingual kids story full of humour, dog personalities, and life in rural Andalucia.

Scene: Courtyard at Casa Adora, Monte Lope Álvarez, rural Andalucía

In rural Andalucía, life with two rescue dogs Spain is never dull. Two sleek Spanish rescue greyhounds stretch out in the courtyard, their long noses twitching with curiosity as the gentle autumn sun warms the terracotta tiles.

Poppy: Dad's brought back a packet of crisps, even though he's a Digestives man.

Issy: And Rich Tea, and Garibaldis, and occasionally Ginger Nuts… and now those Club chocolate biscuits Aunty Debbie sent him early for Christmas. Pero… crisps? ¡Qué cosa más rara!

Poppy: Yeah, apparently there's a problem in Spain about what to call crisps.

Issy: ¿Cómo que problema? They're patatas fritas, hombre.

Poppy: No, patatas fritas are chips.

Issy: You mean French fries?

Poppy: No... well, I actually mean crisps.

Issy's ears prick up. This is turning into a proper funny dog biscuits story.

Poppy: Turns out, at Joseline's bar – you know, the Mexican lady's place – if you want crisps you could be offered patatas bravas. But for real crisps you need to specifically ask for patatas fritas de bolsa.

Issy: ¡Patatas fritas de bolsa! Fried potatoes from a bag! Wait… Joseline might offer you patatas bravas when you ask for crisps? ¡Madre mía, qué lío!

Poppy: Exactly! Dad reckons if you went to Alicia's café bar and asked Esperanza, she'd know exactly what you meant. No confusion there!

Issy: So this is a Joseline thing, not a Spanish thing?

Poppy: Well, maybe it's because Joseline's from Mexico? Perhaps they say things differently there?

The two galgos in Spain look at each other, their detective instincts fully activated.

Issy: Right, so we've got Spanish confusion AND Mexican confusion? Esto se está poniendo interesante…

Poppy: Dad says in England it's simple: Crisps = thin, crunchy, from a packet. Chips = thick, from the chip shop with malt vinegar.

Poppy: Wait, what's malt vinegar?

Issy: It's an English thing, no te preocupes.

Poppy: But—

Issy: Mira, we've never been to England, ¿verdad? All we know is what Dad tells us and what's on the news. And they never talk about vinegar on the news!

Poppy: Fair point. Anyway, Dad bought these crisps from the guy who makes them by hand at the indoor market. The bag is huge and they look absolutely delicious!

Issy: Ah sí, those ones! They're proper patatas fritas de bolsa. None of your factory rubbish.

Poppy: Exactly! Dad's bought them as part of his tapas night. Fran from France and Jerome from Belgium are coming tonight.

Issy: They have mayonnaise with their chips in Belgium! And the French, well, they have French fries.

Poppy: Wait, what do they call crisps?

Both rescue greyhounds stop and stare at each other.

Issy: Buena pregunta, Poppy. We need to add France and Belgium to our international bilingual kids story investigation!

Poppy: This is getting out of hand! We've got England, Spain, Mexico, France, and Belgium – all with different words for potatoes!

Issy: A ver, let me see if I've got this straight. In Mexico, what does Joseline call them?

Poppy: Dad says in Mexico they call them papitas – little potatoes! Or sometimes they just say the brand name, like Sabritas.

Issy: Papitas. ¡Qué monas! Little potatoes!

Poppy: But here's the confusing bit – in Mexico, if you say papas fritas, people might think you mean chips OR crisps, just like here!

Issy: So Joseline's got the same crisps confusion story, but al revés. No wonder she offered patatas bravas!

Poppy: And another thing – Dad says the flavours are all different in England.

Issy: What do you mean?

Poppy: Well, apparently in England they've got cheese and onion, salt and vinegar, prawn cocktail... Dad says he's not sure he's seen cheese and onion here in Spain.

Issy: ¿De verdad? What have we got then?

Poppy: Jamón flavour! Ham crisps!

Issy: Ay sí, las he visto. That sounds perfectly sensible to me. We're in Spain – of course we'd have jamón crisps! Though these ones from the market are just plain, I think. Proper traditional.

Poppy stands up and starts pacing.

Poppy: Right, here's what we need to do. We need to interview witnesses.

Issy: You mean Esperanza at Alicia's café and Joseline at her bar?

Poppy: Yes, and tonight we can ask Fran and Jerome what they call crisps in France and Belgium!

Issy: This investigation is going international, Poppy. ¡Vamos, mi arma!

Poppy: One thing's certain, Issy.

Issy: ¿Qué pasa?

Poppy: Whether you call them crisps, patatas fritas de bolsa, papitas, or whatever the French and Belgians call them… potatoes are way more complicated than Dad makes them sound!

Issy: Though these handmade ones from the market do look absolutely brilliant.

Poppy: They really do. Come on, we've got witnesses to interview before tapas night!

Read more from the Issy & Poppy Investigate – Kids Edition Adventures here:

Footnote: AI images, my stories — The Flexible Chef.

Spanish–English Glossary

¡Qué cosa más rara! – What a strange thing!

Hombre – Used like “mate” or “man” for emphasis in speech

¡Madre mía! – Oh my goodness!

¡Qué lío! – What a mess/confusion!

No te preocupes – Don’t worry

Mira – Look / listen

A ver – Let’s see

Al revés – The other way around / reversed

Ay sí – Oh yes

Vamos, mi arma – Come on, my dear (Andaluz expression)

Papitas – (Mexico) little potatoes; used for crisps

Patatas fritas de bolsa – Crisps (literally “fried potatoes from a bag”)

This story is part of the Issy & Poppy: Kids Edition collection — bilingual adventures with Issy and Poppy in Andalucía. You can explore the whole collection in the Kids Edition Hub.
Esta historia forma parte de la colección Issy & Poppy: Kids Edition — aventuras bilingües con Issy y Poppy en Andalucía. Descubre toda la colección en el Kids Edition Hub.