Review by Booklist Review
This holiday picture book hilariously celebrates the Mexican tradition of eating Rosca de Reyes during Día de los Reyes Magos from the perspective of a precocious child. The rosca, a sweet bread, is traditionally eaten on January 6, and it contains a tiny plastic baby hidden inside. Whoever gets the baby in their slice has to throw a party on Candelaria Day and provide tamales. Little Marta, shocked when her grandmother declares her old enough to eat her own slice of rosca, hilariously shoots champurrado out of her nose. She does not want to eat a slice, because she's terrified of swallowing the tiny baby. Marta wonders: What happens if she eats the baby by accident? How well is he hidden? If she eats it, will there be no tamales for Candelaria Day? But Marta cannot resist eating a piece of the sweet, colorful, tasty rosca. Delicate and detailed illustrations in watercolor and pencil give the artwork a vibrant, vivid, captivating demeanor. The family has noticeably different skin tones, celebrating the diversity in Mexican American families. Arnaldo gives the characters jovial facial expressions and draws the baby in amusing poses, which pairs extraordinarily well with Richardson's text and clever storytelling. Notes from the author and the illustrator about their own experiences with Three Kings Day, as well as a more detailed explanation of the holiday, offer more insight into this beloved Mexican tradition.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this sweetly comic portrait of a Three Kings Day celebration, a child finally old enough to have her own slice of La Rosca de Reyes is worried about swallowing the Baby Jesus figurine inside. Seron Richardson describes the tradition: "The Three Kings had searched mountains and deserts to find the baby Jesus. So every year on Three Kings Day, families all over the world looked for him, too... in their rosca." Young Marta isn't sure the treat is "the best place to hide a baby" and tries her best to dodge the dessert, but as other slices disappear and the figurine isn't revealed, Marta decides "she would have to be valiente"--and is. Aptly depicting the child's laugh-out-loud internality, Arnaldo employs over-the-top scenarios and dynamic facial expressions through out this sweetly comic introduction to the January holiday. The Latinx-cued family is shown with various skin tones. Creators' notes and further info about Three Kings Day conclude. Ages 4--8. (Dec.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3--This picture book illustrates the Three Kings Day traditions of Marta's family. Told in the third person, the story opens with a montage of photos of graduation, marriage, and family. Offset among the family photos is a miniature nativity scene with the three kings, Joseph and Mary, the angel, and the baby Jesus. This scene establishes the connection between Three Kings Day and Christmas. Like so many family gatherings during the holidays, the celebration is set in the kitchen where the Rosca de Reyes, traditional sweet bread, sits on the counter and tantalizes the family members. But Marta is filled with dread. Her family bakes the Rosca with a miniature baby inside the dough. As slices are handed out, everyone waits to see which family member gets the baby, and thus the culinary responsibility of making next year's Christmas tamales. Marta's worry is not about the responsibility of cooking, but rather about swallowing the baby. In her mind's eye, she plays out what happens to her if she does. Will it be like a seed from which weeds grow out of her ears and nostrils? Illustrations capture her worry and humorously contrast the image with her grandpa's hairy ears and nostrils. As Abuela sits on the couch and explains that the three Kings searched mountains and deserts to find the baby Jesus, illustrations feature a king pointing to the Star of Bethlehem. Back matter includes more information about Three Kings Day and la Rosca de Reyes. VERDICT A picture book that weaves together culture, culinary traditions, and Biblical storytelling.--Stephanie Creamer
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
The Rosca de Reyes for Three Kings Day looks delicious, but Marta is terrified of accidentally swallowing the Nino Dios figure hidden inside the cake. She fears the religious ramifications of eating Baby Jesus, as well as letting down her family on Candelaria Day in February: whoever finds the baby brings tamales to the celebration, and "no baby meant no tamales." Marta's anxieties (an appended note shares how they are based on the author's own childhood worries) are humorously described and tempered by comical watercolor and pencil crayon illustrations featuring a cheeky Nino Dios. Eventually, Marta faces her fears, and with a "CHOMP!" triumphantly finds Nino Dios, ensuring tamales for her cheering family. Back matter also includes information on Three Kings Day. Monica de los ReyesNovember/December 2023 p.18 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In Richardson and Arnaldo's jovial collaboration, a distraught girl must overcome her fears on Three Kings Day. As her sprawling Latine family gathers to observe the holiday, little Marta eyes the delicious crown of sweet bread on the kitchen counter: la Rosca de Reyes, the tasty dessert eaten to celebrate Three Kings Day. Inside the baked ring, a "teeny, tiny" replica of baby Jesus is hidden to commemorate the Three Kings' search for the Niño Dios. Marta always takes nibbles out of Mamá's slices to ensure she doesn't end up accidentally biting into baby Jesus. But this year, Abuela announces that Marta is old enough to eat her own slice of the rosca. Gasp! What if Marta gets the piece that conceals the baby Jesus and she eats the Niño Dios? Marta decides not to have a slice--but can she resist the rosca with its dazzling candied fruit? With dabs of mischief and wild-eyed child-friendly logic, this tale unfolds with amusing results. Brief overviews of the holiday provide just enough context for those unfamiliar with it. The artwork, meanwhile, serves up plenty of exaggerated faces and visual gags. Helpful author's and illustrator's notes broadly gesture toward the innumerable ways that different cultures and nations celebrate this religious feast. (This book was reviewed digitally.) An edifying holiday primer wrapped in a humorous, good-natured romp. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
