PANCHO'S PIÑATA

As little Pancho—dressed as an angel—leads his village's Christmas Eve procession, he hears the cries of a star impaled on an ancient cactus and frees it with his long staff. Years later, after a life of toil enriched with a happiness that dates to this experience, he memorializes it by creating the first pi§ata, in the shape of a star. The story here is unexceptional, but it serves to showcase customs surrounding the pi§ata and the posada; the well-designed illustrations, in the vibrant colors that characterize Mexican art, are decorative and appealing. (Picture book. 4-8)