When Christmas Feels Like Home

by Gretchen Griffith and Carolina Farías

For young Eduardo, the move from his unnamed Latin American homeland to the United... read more

For young Eduardo, the move from his unnamed Latin American homeland to the United States is a transition made easier by a few familiar things, most notably the Nativity set he carved with his grandfather. Yet his new house still doesn't feel like home. His mother says it will when they put up the Nativity at Christmas. Tío Miguel acknowledges that it will take time: First the mountain "will turn the color of the sun," then "the pumpkins will smile." Tía Sofia adds that his new school will feel familiar "when your words float like clouds from your mouth." But all these things are impossible! Yet one by one, as Eduardo adjusts and makes friends, these and other impossible things happen: Trees change color then turn bare as skeletons; Halloween brings carved, smiling pumpkins; with the first cold weather he can see his breath. Child-friendly details mark the passage of time as a boy adjusts to a new home-and new seasons-in an upbeat look at the immigrant experience that still captures a sense of longing. (Ages 5-8)

© Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2014

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