The villagers sadly tell the circus troupe that crops have failed, and so they've no money; also, the young people have all gone away, and they're not celebrating Christmas. The circus moves on, but the boy-clown Jingle stays in the little Italian village with the baby animals in his charge. They decide to give a small circus, for free, and some of the old people rally round to help; concluding their performance in the snow, the little group forms a Christmas tree, and an angel miraculously appears, showering them with stars. DePaola's narrative of this sweet story is in his usual unadorned, approachable style. But his figures (though recognizably his) have uncommon subtlety, especially the powerful, dark images of the elderly townsfolk, while his glowing, delicately muted colors and the characters' gestures gently convey the changing mood. A sure crowd-pleaser. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 7, 1992
ISBN: 0698116690
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1992
Lucida and her mother are recruited by Padre Alvarez to weave a new blanket for the figure of Baby Jesus carried in their village's Christmas procession. They take to their task with great energy, but Lucida's mother falls ill and is not able to finish the blanket in time. When Lucida tries to weave it herself, she only manages to produce a hopeless set of tangles. Ashamed that she will have no gift to give the Baby Jesus, Lucida hides during the procession; but an old lady points out to her that any gift to the child would be accepted with love. Lucida grabs a hunk of weeds and prays for the best. Sure enough, as she places them beside the figure, the weeds burst into Christmas bloom, and so the great red spectacle of the poinsettia came to be. DePaola (Christopher, p. 140, etc.) has always had a way with the retelling of folktales—getting them straight without getting them sentimental—and he shines again here with this Mexican story, as do the bold swaths of color that illuminate his painting. (Folklore/Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 6, 1994
ISBN: 0-399-21692-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1994
A reassuring story of friendship in the face of change.
The art of Chinese paper cutting and the art of friendship come together in this heartfelt migration story.
Bundled up and brightly dressed, best friends Dandan and Yueyue gleefully stroll hand in hand through a snowy neighborhood in China. But joy soon turns to sorrow—Dandan learns that she and her family will soon be moving to America on the day of the Lunar New Year. The girls spend their remaining time together celebrating New Year’s Eve. They munch on dumplings, spend time with their families, and make bright red paper cuttings to serve as ornaments. With a tight hug and a stack of red paper as a parting gift, Yueyue urges Dandan to carry on their paper cutting tradition with a new friend in her new homeland. In America, Dandan feels lonely and friendless. Everything is different, she can’t speak English, and some of her new classmates laugh at her Chinese qipao dress. With a smile from a White, freckle-faced girl named Christina, though, her voice and a new friendship bloom. With so much to learn about her new home and her new friend, can Dandan keep old traditions—like paper cutting—alive? Liu’s descriptive text deftly captures the ups, downs, and in-betweens of a child’s experience moving to a new country. Scurfield’s digitally collaged pencil-and-ink illustrations are mostly bright and colorful, but a brief shift to monochrome underscores the strangeness of a new place and the anxiety of learning a new language. Repeated motifs underline the fact that regardless of geographical location, some things remain the same.
A reassuring story of friendship in the face of change. (author’s note, about the author, about paper cutting, how to make a snowflake instructions) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Dec. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-77818-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Godwin Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
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