A heartwarming bilingual tale about a young boy and his family as they try to make ends meet at Christmastime. The boy desperately wants a red ball for Christmas, but learns to be happy with his gift when he sees his mother so happy with her gift. The illustrations are somewhat darkly painted in a Mexican folk style, complementing the storyline. The Spanish text is easily readable for a beginning Spanish audience, making this a useful addition to the Christmastime collection for a Spanish classroom. Recommended. Ages 4-8. ( )

Author Jimenez shares the true story of a memorable Christmas for him and his family when he was young. The focus is on the importance of family bond especially for migrant farmers.

This book would be great for students to practice Spanish, but also to learn a little more of culture, and how other countries celebrate Christmas.

Personal response:

This is a beautiful story told by a young boy whose family moves from site to site in California,following the seasonal crops as migrant laborers have done for decades (and still do throughout the U.S.). The poverty of his family does not stop them from helping others in need, and Pancho learns a lesson about sharing.

Cirriculum/programming connections:

Bilingual book display, seasonal book display, migrant labor unit.

The beautiful illustrations tend to romanticize the dismal conditiions of this lifestyle, but for a children's book one must use discretion.

The illustrations are simple but with great color.(was gonna do an author study, but knew him too well, decided to research someone unkown to me)

Personal Response:
The author tells his Christmas memory in this book. It is a truly touching story of a family who is blessed in many ways. The book is written in English and Spanish. This is nice for reading in a bilingual setting of children.

Curricular or Programming Connections:
Christmas Tradition
Young children/family ( )