Customer Reviews

Nine Days to Christmas: A Story of Mexico (Picture Puffins)

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This children's book is about a five-year-old Mexican girl and her first posada (a Christmas festival in Mexico) and her first Christmas piñata. Children have always loved the story and also have used the book to learn more about the culture and life of another country. "Nine Days to Christmas" is highly recommended. Aurora Labastida was the librarian for children's books in Mexico City and she cowrote this story with Marie Ets who was the illustrator. The book won the 1960 Caldecott Medal for best illustration in a children's book.

As a child, this book open the world to me. Nine Days to Christmas lets children learn about and explore the traditions of Christmas in Mexico while capturing the thrill and confusion of early childhood. Thirty years after reading this book, I look forward to sharing the magic of Nine Days to Christmas with my own children.

This book is rich with fascinating traditions from the Latino culture. First published in 1959, this Caldecott Medal picture book tells the story of a young girl in Mexico who is hosting her first Christmas party. The girl hopes to have a pinata at her party. When the day of the party finally arrives and she does in fact have a beautiful pinata which she was able to choose herself, she is devastated when she realizes it will be crushed. In the end, the pinata, which is shaped like a star, disappears into the night sky where she knows it will live forever.

This book is a bit slow at the beginning. However, it really comes together at the end with a sweet finish.

~DeeDee Fox, Author and Illustrator, The Ruby Red Slippers