Maria: A Christmas Story (An Avon Camelot Book) [Paperback]

Theodore Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1993 | Age Level: 9 and up | Series: An Avon Camelot Book

Eleven year old Maria Gonzaga didn't know what compelled her to do such a foolish thing. She knew her father would be furious. Yet at that moment, the only thing that mattered was that she was entering her family in a big float competition and making them a part of the annual village Christmas celebration. Never before had any of the poor Mexican-American farm families taken part in the parade of giant floats. Only the wealthy ranchers could afford the thousands of dollars it cost to create them.This year would be different. The Gonzaga float would be a source of pride for all Mexican-Americans.

Maria had no idea how her poor family could possibly make a float as beatiful as the others, but she knew they had to. Little did she imagine that it would be her own last minute inspiration that would steal the show...and become a tradition celebrated each year at Christmas in the little village of San Lazaro, California.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-- Maria, 11, lives on her Mexican-American family's tiny vegetable farm, which is sandwiched between two giant ranches. The daughters of these wealthy neighbors are Maria's friends, but unthinkingly irritate her with their constant chatter of their moneyed families' elaborate floats to be entered in the annual Christmas parade. Impulsively, Maria enters, too; this appalls her parents but they create a Nativity scene mounted on a farm wagon, pulled by other Mexican-Americans who until now had been excluded from the parade. Taylor's brief tale is more about perceived barriers of economics and race than about Christmas. Maria joins the parade, not because of her holiday spirit, but because she can no longer stand silently by while others brag. Her father agrees only because he is similiarly annoyed. After the difficulties and subsequent coming together of the community, winning a trophy in the parade pales. Or at least it should. Taylor spends so much time describing the problems, and so little time on the solution, that readers almost miss it. Useful, perhaps, in multicultural studies, but not as a seasonal feel-good read. --Ruth Semrau, Lovejoy School, Allen, TX
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Theodore Taylor is the author of a dozen books for young readers. He lives in Laguna Beach, California, with his wife, Flora.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: HarperTrophy (October 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380721201
• ISBN-13: 978-0380721207
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,801,694 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Theodore Taylor has written several award-winning books. The Cay won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award and was also made into a movie.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Touching, November 30, 1999

By 

Esperanza Avalos (Texas,United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Maria: A Christmas Story (An Avon Camelot Book) (Paperback)

This book makes a great read aloud for the bilingual students. It was a very touching book about a Mexican American family which my students were able to identify or relate too. Every bilingual class room should have this book in there class