A PIÑATA IN A PINE TREE: A Latino Twelve Days of Christmas

Children's book author, Pat Mora, has adapted the traditional Christmas carol to include Latin flair. Each day "mi amiga" gives the young girl a new gift. Finally on the last day the young girl is given 12 angles to celebrate the birth of her baby sister.


This picture book as received favorable reviews from Horn Book, Kirkus Review, School Library Journal, Booklist, and Publisher's Weekly. It was also named to the 2010 Americas Commended List.


This picture book might not have an extensive plot, however, Mora creates an interesting story by blending two cultures and presenting both in a positive manner. This texts puts a cultural spin on a favorite song. The book itself offers multiple learning opportunities:

• to count the gifts of each day on the page.
  


• to learn Spanish numbers and Spanish pronunciations.

Each picture is engaging because they provide the pronunciation for the gift and the number embedded cleverly into the picture. At the end of the text there is a glossary and pronunciation guide. The colors in the drawings are vibrant and representative of latino culture. Morales uses acrylic paint to achieve this vibrancy. The Author's and Illustrator's notes at the end of the book provide quality explanations for the cultural differences and the inclusions of some of the gifts like spinning tops, trompos girando, and bells ringing, campanitas sonando.

This books offers opportunities for a read aloud during the holiday season. If children are allowed the opportunity to take extended views of the pictures, they can learn the pronunciation of words or practice counting to twelve/doce.

The learning opportunities abound with this book, from counting to a foreign language. This is a great book recommendation for parents who hope to raise bilingual children, be they primarily Spanish-speaking households or primarily English-speaking households.

Bibliographic Information:

Mora, Pat. A Pinata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Twelve Days of Christmas. Illustrated by Magaly Morales. New York: Clarion Books, 2010.

ISBN-13: 978-0-618-84198-1