Our Lady of Guadalupe

Juan Diego, an Indian peasant who lives with his elderly uncle in a humble cottage, is sure he is dreaming when he sees the Virgin Mary. As she requests, Juan asks the bishop to place a shrine for her on the hillside. Twice the doubting bishop demands a sign. Caring for his uncle, Juan cannot return to Mary immediately. When he does, she assures Juan his uncle will not die and miraculously proffers Castilian roses, which grow only in Spain. Ultimately, Juan Diego becomes caretaker of the shrine that is built. Engel's oil paintings give atmospheric details to this lyrical retelling, which invites readers to step back more than four centuries into the Central American past. Appropriately luminous, the Lady of Guadalupe, as the Madonna is called, lends a contrast to the somber countryside. An author's note provides historical details that flesh out the facts around the Lady's appearance to Juan Diego, who was canonized in 2002 as a saint.--Austin, Patricia Copyright 2010 Booklist

Gr 1-4-Bernier-Grand does a credible job of retelling the story of the miraculous appearance of Mary to a humble Mexican farmer; the proof of his vision is an indelible image of her on his cloak. Engle's oil and encaustic (hot wax and pigments) paintings use muddy colors to evoke place and time, and heavy-handed visual metaphors (like birds and musical notes on wispy swirls of cloud). Some of the pictures are awkward or ill-placed. For example, a spread features an illustration of Juan Diego's dying uncle with unrelated text on the left side, and readers don't learn of his illness until they get to the bottom of the recto. When the image of our Lady is dramatically revealed, it is not the focal point of the spread; the long ornate cloak of the bishop is seen first, and the eyes of the bishop and priests are focused on the flowers that tumble from the robe rather than the real miracle, the painted image of the Virgin on the tilma of the farmer. This title won't replace Tomie dePaola's classic retelling in The Lady of Guadalupe (Holiday House, 1980), though it is shorter and will be easier for reading aloud.-Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick's Catholic School, Charlotte, NC (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Bernier-Grand offers her version of the origins of the popular Mexican shrine. Abandoning her typical free-verse style for a more traditional narrative, the author describes the Aztec Juan Diego's three encounters with the Virgin Mary on Tepeyac Hill, near Tlatelolco (now Mexico City). Mary requests that Juan Diego tell the local bishop to build her a shrine on the hill. As an Indian, Juan Diego has a difficult time getting an audience with the skeptical man, much less convincing him that the Virgin Mary would reveal herself to such a lowly person. On his third visit to the bishop, Juan Diego carries a sign from the Virgin to the bishop: roses in December. When Juan Diego reveals the roses, the bishop finds that "the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary was painted on Juan Diego's tilma!"The author concludes the tale with details on the significance of the shrine, the origins of the name "Our Lady of Guadalupe" and other relevant historical facts and dates. While Engel's stately oil and encaustic illustrations match the seriousness of the book's subject, readers may be distracted by the type choice and text placement, as well as a few awkward page turns. Those familiar with the author's verse works may long for her return to that form. A faithful, if uneven, retelling. (author's note) (Picture book/religion. 7-12)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.