PPBF: 'Twas Nochebuena

Today I'm delighted to share this Buy One Get One offer that I heard about this week from Laurie Jacobs, the author of Silly Frilly Grandma Tillie. It's a fun way to keep a copy and share this intergenerational whimsy with your school. I'm also psyched about PPBF because last week I was unplugged for Thanksgiving and missed it. Look at the gem I found at our Book Fair yesterday.

Title: 'Twas Nochebuena

Author: Roseanne Greenfield Thong

Illustrator: Sara Palacios

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

Date: October 16, 2014

Suitable for: ages 4-8

Themes: Christmas, culture, traditions

Realistic Fiction

Brief synopsis: Travel with a family south of the border as they make their preparations for a Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) celebration.

Opening page:

'Twas Nochebuena and all through our casa, 

every creature was kneading tamale masa. 

For one of our holiday tradiciones, 

is making tamales - not one, but montones!

Resources: Read a Kirkus review {here}.

See it on a list of holiday newcomers {here}.

Why I like this book:  When I picked up this eye-catching text and started to read it, it took me back to a Spanglish poem I used to read aloud with my students when I was a Spanish teacher many moons ago. I still remember the opening lines: 'Twas la noche before Christmas and all through la casa, not a creature was stirring, caramba, ¿qué pasa? 

I recently came across this version of that very poem:

So I'm drawn in by the nostalgia of what was for me, but also by the cultural celebration that is for this Latino family. The book beautifully shares these Navidad traditions in an English/Spanish rhyme and just begs for its readers to make tamales, host a Posada, serve chocolaty champurrado, 

and sing a few spirited canciones. 

Let students make a word search from the words in the Glossary of Spanish Terms in back. Divvy up the poem and ask each student to memorize a verse for a festive oral presentation of the text. Invite them to compare and contrast the customs in the book with their own traditions a la Christmas Around The Class. 

For enrichment, break out a copy of Tomie dePaolo's The Legend of the Poinsettia. It might also be a fun time to have students try their hand at making a decorative piñata. Blow up a balloon and cover it with strips of paper coated in liquid starch. Once the paper strips have dried, paint or decorate with crepe paper. Finally, sing Jingle Bells together in Spanish:

Cascabeles

Cascabeles, cascabeles

Hoy es navidad.

Es un día de alegria

Y felicidad (x2).

O navidad hermosa, o noche sin igual.

Tus luces iluminan con lumbre celestial.

Mensaje dulce y claro que al mundo da la paz.

O navidad hermosa, o noche sin igual.

Check out this tesoro; I think you'll be muy contento that you did.

And don't forget to peek at today's other PPBF picks {here}.