The Miracle of the First Poinsettia: A Mexican Christmas Story

Juanita must confront the difference that her father's recent unemployment makes in her family's Posadas, or Christmas celebration, in this lovely retelling of a Mexican legend. Unable to buy the special foods eaten at this time of year, or get gifts for her younger brothers and friends, Juanita is desperately unhappy, even going so far as to avoid the Christmas Eve church service, because she has no offering for the Baby Jesus. It is as she lingers outside the church, longing to go in but feeling unworthy, that a miracle occurs, and a beautiful gift for the Christ Child is given to her...

A pourquoi tale explaining how poinsettias - indigenous to Mexico and Central America, this flowering plant is known as La flor de Noche Buena, or show more "the flower of Christmas Eve" - came to be, this story has also been retold by Tomie dePaola in his picture-book, The Legend of the Poinsettia. This retelling by Joanne F. Oppenheim, who credits the Christmases she spent in Mexico with her parents as an inspiration in her brief afterword, is appealing, although the real star is the artwork by Fabian Negrin. With a deep and vivid color palette, expressively painted human figures, and lovely decorative details - the poinsettia endpapers were a particularly nice touch! - the illustrations here are immensely appealing. The sense of beauty and mystery in these paintings, which can also be found in other titles illustrated by Negrin, such as Julia Alvarez' The Secret Footprints, is just enchanting. Highly recommended, both to those young readers looking for Christmas stories with a Mexican cultural setting, and to fans of the artist's work. show less

Story of Juanita that celebrates the modern holiday of Christmas taking place in Mexico. She is poor and self conscious about taking gift for baby Jesus. So the story is how the poinsetta became a traditional flower of Christmas and a flower that is synonymous with the holiday.
Book is book to use for discussing cultural traditions, family, holiday, origins of symbols, religion, story telling and Spanish English literature. Great to compliment holiday and also for fun.

Juanita, a little girl growing up in Mexico, learns that although she is poor, the best gifts are the ones given from the heart. She is embarrassed and sad to have to go to church without a gift for the baby Jesus, but an angel shows her poinsettias to give.