The Legend of the Poinsettia

The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola
Illustrated by Tomie dePaola
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons
1994

     Lucida lived in a small village in the mountains of Mexico with her family.  She helped her mom cook and took care of her little siblings. "Each evening they went to the shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe near the front gate to see if fresh candles were needed."  The town was getting ready for Christmas and Father Alvarez asked Lucida's mom if she could weave a new blanket to cover Baby Jesus during the procession.   Lucida's mother was honored and started working on the new blanket right away.
     One day, while Lucida was at the church practicing the songs for the Christmas procession, a neighbor came running to let her know that her mother was sick and her father had taken her to the doctor.  Lucida's parents wouldn't be home till after Christmas.  Lucida tried to finish the blanket by herself but it was too difficult and the wool got all tangled.  She cried, feeling like it was all her fault, "in her heart she felt that she had ruined Christmas." On the night of the procession, Lucida hid in the darkness ashamed. An old woman approached her and told Lucida her mother will be fine and she should go inside the church to celebrate Christmas.  Lucida explained that she hadn't finished the blanket and she didn't have a gift for Baby Jesus, and the old woman told her "any gift is beautiful because it is given." Lucida looked around for something to give Baby Jesus and carried inside the church a bundle of green weeds in her arms. She looked back but the old lady had disappeared. As she lay the weeds down by the manger, she bowed down and prayed and then all the weeds changed color from green to red, like flaming stars.  Even the weeds outside changed. "Lucida's simple gift had indeed become beautiful."
     I love The Legend of the Poinsettia. It's such a beautiful story! It's message is worth spreading during the holidays when we might lose focus and spend too much in extravagant gifts. It is the gifts of love that really make a difference.

Too Many Tamales

Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto
Illustrated by Ed Martinez
Published by The Putnam Publish Group
1993

     Maria is feeling grown-up. It's Christmas and she's in the kitchen wearing her mother's apron and helping her knead the masa to make tamales.  She was even allowed to wear her mother's lipstick and perfume. But the one thing she still wishes to wear is her mother's diamond ring.  Her mom had set it on the counter while she kneaded the dough and when she left the kitchen to answer the phone, "Maria couldn't help herself." She grabbed the ring and put it on her thumb.  She continued kneading the masa, seeing how the ring "disappeared, then reappeared in the sticky glob of dough."
    The tamales where done and Maria's extended family arrives to celebrate Christmas. While Maria is playing with her cousins, she realizes she no longer has the ring. It has to be inside one of the tamales! There is only one way to find it before Maria's mom notices the ring is missing: the kids will have to eat all the tamales or Maria will have to fess up.
     Too Many Tamales is a wonderful read aloud to share with the family.  The story is entertaining and the theme of honesty and coming clean, will resonate with a lot of young readers.  Aside from all that, Too Many Tamales is about family and traditions.  It's warm illustrations help create the feeling of a family sharing and the facial expressions of the children in the book will have some smiling all the way to the kitchen.    
 

The Christmas Boot

The Christmas Boot by Lisa Wheeler
Illustrated by Michael Glenn Monroe
Published by Mitten Press
2007

     Miss Hannah Greyweather walked through the forest on Christmas morning gathering kindling wood. As usual, she was all by herself, "she chatted to the forest, she talked to the mountains, but mostly she spoke to herself." On her way back to her ramshackle cabin she found a black boot.  She had her hands full so she just "slipped her rag-wrapped right foot deep within it." The boot magically took the shape and size of her foot.  That night she went to sleep only wishing she had the other boot. When she woke up, the pair was complete.  As she wishes for different things that keep coming true, Hannah keeps wondering who the magical boot belongs to.  When a round man with a white beard shows up at her doorstep, she welcomes him in and realizes she has found the true owner.
     The Christmas Boot is a sweet, sentimental story.  I did find the ending a bit sad -getting a new puppy but still living alone in a run down home wasn't the kind of happy ending you expect after dinner with Santa.  Nice read aloud for the older elementary grades.

The Third Gift

The Third Gift by Linda Sue Park
Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
Published by Clarion Books
2011

My father collects tears. That is what they are called: the pearls of sap that seep out of a tree when the bark is cut. Maybe they are called tears because it seems as if the tree is crying.

     In a barren and harsh looking landscape, a young boy and his father walked together searching for the perfect trees. The father is working, collecting the sap and teaching his son how to do it.  Both of them walk side by side, diligently looking at each tree, touching them, finding the perfect spot on the bark to cut an "x" and wait for the sap, the tear, to seep out, and solidify just enough to be solid on the outside and tender in the middle.     
     They sell the tears to spice merchants at the marketplace. The tears are used as medicine, to flavor wine, and as embalming oils. "When you smell tears at a funeral, you know that someone truly beloved has died."
     They have collected the largest tear yet. Their faces filled with joy. As they approach the marketplace, the spice merchant awaits for them with a special group of clients. They speak a foreign language. They are shopping for a special gift. "We have a gift of gold, and a gift of frankincense." They have found the third gift.
     The Third Gift is a truly special book. The illustrations by Ibatoulline are breathtaking, each a work of art.  Sue Park has paced the story beautifully, its quite sensibility and reverence coming through.  It's a surprising development in a story we thought we knew.  Sue Park explains in her author's note the origin of the story and its historical context. Like her, I too wondered when I was younger what myrrh was, but felt uncomfortable asking. I just wished I had had the pleasure of reading this book then. Beautiful and quite read aloud.

Little Owl Lost

Little Owl Lost by Chris Haughton
Illustrated by Chris Haughton
Published by Candlewick Press
2010

     Owls are trendy, or so I've heard. They're supposed to be the new chicken or something like that. So here I have my first owl book, Little Owl Lost.  And...yes, this little owl is very, very likable.
     Little owl and his mom are perched atop a tree, eyes closed, sleeping.  Little owl starts leaning over the edge and before he can react, he falls off.

As he bounces all the way down to the ground (in a scene that gave me some Angry Bird flashbacks), little owl realizes he doesn't know where his mother is and he's lost. A squirrel who saw him fall comes to his help, as a bear, a rabbit, and a frog, observe in the background.  "Don't worry, little friend. I'll find your mommy. What does she look like?" Little Owl describes his mom as big so the squirrel takes him to the bear. He then describes his mother's pointy ears, so squirrel takes him to the rabbit. He tells him about his mom's big eyes, so squirrel takes him to the frog. Thankfully frog knows where to find little owl's mommy.  Mother owl, squirrel, frog and little owl get together to celebrate atop the tree, and as little owl closes his eyes again, he starts to lean over the edge...
     Little Owl reminds you of the classic Are You My Mother? but with a more contemporary touch given by its digital media illustrations and it's short simple dialogue.  It's funny and young readers will connect to little owl and his search for mommy.  Sweet read aloud for the lower grades and to set up as a mini readers' theater.

Shhh!

Shhh! by Valeri Gorbachev
Illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev
Published by Philomel Books
2011

     His baby brother is sleeping so he knows he needs to be really quiet.  He makes sure he doesn't jump around or sing. "I walk on my tippy-toes." He goes around telling everyone to shhh! He tells the clown to stop laughing, the knights to stop fighting, the tiger to quiet down his roars, the pilot to ground his buzzing plane, the train conductor to stop the train, and the pirates to stop firing their cannons. "When my baby brother sleeps, it is so quiet in my house. I can even hear a fly!" He makes sure nothing wakes him up, because "I love my baby brother so."
     Shhh! is a tender book about the love of a big brother for his baby brother.  I really like the way the story is set up. At first, when the boy is telling us all the things he makes sure are quiet so as not to wake his baby brother up, we see him -in Gorbachev's beautiful illustrations- facing the pirates, knights, train...as if they were real.  And then we see him sitting on a loveseat and next to him there is a toy clown like the one he had just told to be quiet before.  As his baby brother wakes up, he see the boy interacting with all those characters who are now his toys, entertaining the baby.  Gorbachev complements his story with his illustrations.  It's a delightful book to share with all those big brothers out there. 

Mooseltoe

Mooseltoe by Margie Palatini
Illustrated by Henry Cole
Published by Scholastic
2001

     Moose was ready for the season.  "He was so full of ho ho ho's, even his moosetache had the holiday spirit!"  He was incredibly busy taking care of all the things on his to-do list.  He wrote Christmas cards, "shopped till he dropped," wrapped gifts, cooked all sorts of deserts, decorated the house and hung the stockings. He went down the list: check, check, double check. He made sure everything was "perfectly perfect."  When Mother, little Sissy, Bucky and Junior looked through the house, they saw everything looked "quite fine indeed," except for one corner of the house where the tree should have been! Poor Moose had forgotten the tree!  He went out in the cold desperately trying to find one but it was too late, they were all out.  So he came up with a perfectly perfect solution, he and his moosetache became the tree.
     Mooseltoe is a tricky read aloud.  Sometimes it rhymes and sometimes it doesn't, so it takes at least a one-read-over to get the rhythm down pat.  The story is delightful and there is plenty of opportunities for little ones to join in shouting "Check!" and "Perfectly Perfect" (this last one became one of my sons favorite sayings which he's used for the past year!).  The illustrations by Henry Cole are quite appealing and the cover will attract readers from the start.