AR: 4.5

I was thrown off by this one and thought I was accidentally reading the third/Christmas book. There's a weird time jump so that Tia Dolores is back at the rancho even though she was just departing at the end of the last book. And Josefina makes her Christmas dress.

While there were some odd choices, this one was pretty good. I like that it approaches issues (death of a parent) kids may go through a bit more seriously than the Felicity books do. So far these books are giving us more of a cultural context than a historical one. By that I mean there isn't a big historical event the story has latched onto yet. I think it took the Felicity series a few books to get going on the American Revolution, so there might still be something along those lines to emerge (not only do I not know my American West history very well, I don't know the West, so I guess it will be a surprise). ( )

Josefina and her sisters distrust learning to read and write, as well as other changes their Tia Dolores is bringing to the household.

A flood kills most of the rancho's sheep, but Tia Dolores comes up with a way to ensure that they get back on their feet. Josefina learns to weave and to read. The story and characters are interesting enough, though I can't say that Josefina's character has become very memorable to me. ( )

Ti’a Dolores is teaching Josefina many new things, but Francisca worries that changing things brings them further from their mother. Josefina wonders whether learning to write will bring her away from her mother, until her aunt shows her that she can write down all the things her mother used to say. ( )