Dreams of Green

August 28, 2023
“Mamá’s story says that long ago los Reyes Magos visited al bebé Jesús with gifts, and now every year they visit children like me on Three Kings’ Day.” But until now, they’ve always visited Lucía in Puerto Rico. Frozen Ohio, where the child’s family has recently moved, proves very different from the warm January climate they’re used to, and the child worries about whether the kings will be able to find them, and how their camels will find food under the snow. As Lucía yearns for the country left behind (for the camels, “I gathered grass even in January”) and finds new ways to celebrate (“I see a tiny fluff of brown... and gather a few sticks, pine needles, and pinecones”), the holiday reassures the protagonist that their connection to their home country and culture is far from lost. Rodríguez’s digital art juxtaposes the landscapes of Puerto Rico and Ohio throughout. Notes about the holiday conclude. Ages 4–8.

September 1, 2023

K-Gr 3-Lucia eagerly anticipates the celebration of Three Kings' Day. Worryingly, she and her family moved from Puerto Rico, which has green leaves and lush grass that Lucia could collect and put into a decorative box for the camels. Now Lucia lives in Ohio, a place with a gray sky and white snow blanketing the landscape. The illustrated settings alternate between a vibrant Puerto Rico and a drab Ohio, a contrast of bright green palms, green iguanas, and red flowers, with a variety of grays found in the icicles, frosty breath, and chimney smoke. In this bleak landscape, Lucia and her family find creativity, love, and joy to bring their island tradition to life, digging through the snow to find grass for the camels, making three kings out of snowmen decorated with headscarves and golden crowns, and filling the home with the scent of cinnamony mallorcas. Illustrations capture the magic of Three Kings' Day, with swirling patterns matching the balmy winds of Puerto Rico, spiraling musical notes filling the living room, whimsical puffs of frosty breath wafting to the guiding stars, and the swish of a white silhouette against a midnight sky depicting kings, camels, palms, and snowy mountains. Lucia learns that traditions can cross oceans and joy can be found, even in colorless landscapes. End pages offer history and the varying ways traditions thrive in different parts of the world, including Mexico, Spain, and Puerto Rico. VERDICT A wonderful addition to library collections.-Stephanie Creamer

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2023
When Luc�a's family moves to chilly Ohio from sunny Puerto Rico, the child worries about how the Three Kings will find them now that they're so far away. In January, Puerto Rico is full of green, from the grass to the leaves on the trees. Usually, Luc�a collects these gifts for the camels ridden by the Three Kings, who once visited Jesus at his birth and who now visit children on Three Kings' Day each year. But now that Luc�a lives in snowy, gray Ohio, it's unclear whether the Three Kings will be able to come at all. Will the camels eat arugula from the grocery store? When morning arrives, Luc�a finds mallorcas baked by Mama and gifts left by the Three Kings--and the family calls Abuela and the cousins back in Puerto Rico. Luc�a observes Three Kings' Day just as the family did in Puerto Rico and celebrates a new path and life. The illustrations of Puerto Rico are vibrant, contrasting with the cooler palette depicting Ohio. During the Three Kings' Day celebration, however, the saturation returns, bringing the beauty of the island to the mainland. Luc�a and the family are brown-skinned and brown-haired. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A comforting holiday story about sustaining tradition while making room for new beginnings. (more information on Three Kings' Day) (Picture book. 4-8)

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November 1, 2023
Lucia is afraid the Three Kings won't be able to find her in her new home: unlike Puerto Rico, Ohio in January has no grass to guide their camels. Lucia's family reassures her, and together they keep old holiday traditions alive (Mama bakes mallorcas) and make new ones (they gather pine needles for the camels). Soft, digitally rendered illustrations highlight the beauty and fun Lucia finds in her family's new experience of winter and the warmth they create for the holiday. More information about the holiday is appended. Concurrently published in Spanish as El verde de mis suenos. Monica de los Reyes

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)