The Christmas Tree / El árbol de Navidad
Book Description
This delightful cumulative text, in both English and Spanish, radiates the joy of holiday traditions and the warmth of family love. An excellent book for emergent readers, which can easily be transformed into a simply play. Illustrated with powerful colors by Terry Ibáñez.
Author’s Note
Christmas was always a very special season of the year for me as a child, and later a wonderful time to share with my children and our large family. Some of the names of the characters in the story are names of real members of my family like my son Alfonso, and my wonderful aunt Mireya. For some real life information on our unusual Christmas celebration, you can look up “Christmas for All” (in Under the Royal Palms) “Navidades para todos” (en Bajo las palmas reales).
Reviews
School Library Journal
Grade 1-3: The meter and appealing rhyme scheme of the cumulative verses apparent in the Spanish text are missing in the English version. The simple story centers on a Christmas tree and the joy it brings to those who assemble to decorate it. Straightforward sentences describe, first in English, then in Spanish, one thing that each family member contributes to the tree. As each decoration is repeated, the refrain grows longer. “Look at the beautiful Christmas tree/with the bright candle/Grandma lit,/the candy cane/Grandpa hung,/the sleigh/Uncle Irineo painted,” etc. The artwork, done in acrylic paint on black paper, features deeply saturated background shades of red, orange, blue, green, and violet. The figures are portrayed in a primitive, folk-art style and the dark hues chosen for the backgrounds and festive, decorative borders give them depth and texture. A visually attractive addition especially for bilingual and Spanish-language collections.
“One by one members of a family add decorations to their Christmas tree, and Ada’s cumulative text charts their offerings –from Grandma’s candle to Uncle Irineo’s painted sleight ornament. With a line of text in English followed by the line in rhyming Spanish, the quiet graceful narrative is complemented by Ybáñez’s folk-art style illustrations, rendered in acrylic on black paper. Simple borders start out incorporating a single visual element –candy cane, stars, a spring of evergreen –and grow gradually more intricate as additional ornaments are added.” (Publishers Weekly, October 1997).
“[…] The simple story centers on a Christmas tree and the joy it brings to those who assemble to decorate it. Straightforward sentences describe, first in English, then in Spanish, one thing that each family member contributes to the tree. As each decoration is repeated the refrain grows longer. “Look at the beautiful Christmas tree / with the candy cane / Grandpa hung, / the sleigh / Uncle Irineo painted,” etc. The art work, done in acrylic paint on black paper, features deeply saturated background shades of red, orange, blue, green, and violet. The figures are portrayed in a primitive folk-art style and the dark hues chosen for the backgrounds and festive decorative borders give them depth and texture. A visually attractive addition especially for bilingual and Spanish-language collections.” (School Library Journal, November 1997).
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