It was an absolute thrill to receive the notice that I received this ARC from Loyola Press!

Sometimes it's hard to be objective in a review when you love a book so much, and that was definitely the case here. The artwork is beautiful. The words are in both English and Spanish and shown on the same page. The illustrations reflect a Catholic family home and the parts of the book that reflect the history behind the the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe are rendered with equal love and attention. The inclusion of the Nine Days of Prayer/Novena was a thoughtful addition I really enjoyed, as well as learning the history of Las Mañanitas--I was aware of the song but not the story behind it. Overall, I would very happily recommend this book to families of young children (ideally ages 4-9). I need to get our family a copy of this one ASAP.

The beautiful story of the Lady of Guadalupe is told with sweet illustrations and Spanish and English text. Children will learn about Mexican culture and this special holiday!

I read this to my daughter and she was enthralled with it! The pictures and the story really kept her attention. We will be going back to this book again and again.

I am in LOVE with this book! It is just perfect! You can tell that this book was written by someone who is very familiar with the practice of celebrating our Lady of Guadalupe in the Hispanic tradition. I adore that the text of this book is written in both English and Spanish so that it can be enjoyed both ways. The pictures are delightful and will be a joy to the young children who read this book. I think that this book has the perfect blend of readability to young children with the right amount of formation. I will be using this book with my own children and recommending it to others!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this wonderful book!

Fue maravilloso y el arte es hermosa! I will be using this for my classes to translate as soon as they have learned the imperfect tense.

The story was well told and built anticipation for the final days of the celebration.

I thought that this book was just lovely.

The book was well written and it was a joy to read. I loved the illustrations for the story as it really brought the book to life.

I loved the approach taken with the story too as the book is bilingual with Mexican and English both used in the book - an added, and fun way to look to learn words from another language too.

The book explains the origins of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who is patron saint of Mexico and the entire America. It also describes how believers celebrate Our Lady’s feast day, December 12 and would be a great book to read as part of the celebrations.

It is 5 stars from me for this one - very highly recommended!

I went into this thinking about the song but it was different than what I thought it would be like. I think this could be a great holiday read for children. I really enjoyed the illustration style of the story.

A delightful introduction to the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Juan Diego, and her annual veneration.

Las Mañanitas is a wonderful children’s picture book that explains the story of the appearances of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the religious observations (and the title of the book) that occur in December. It introduces and gives the background circumstances of Juan Diego, the first Catholic saint born in the New World.

The story is told from the viewpoint of a regular family with children participating in the events for the first time, and it is delightful, straightforward, and colorfully illustrated. Grandpa recounts the inspirational and historical tale while Grandma prepares the traditional costumes her young grandchildren will wear during the celebration. Best of all, the book provides the entire story in realistic but simple dialogue in both Spanish and English, side by side or one above the other on the page. Language students could use the book for a simple and interesting reading comprehension exercise and a glimpse into this cultural aspect of Catholicism in Mexico and other Latin American countries or communities.

I recommend LAS MAÑANITAS: THE BEAUTIFUL CELEBRATION OF OUR LADY OF GUADELUPE to young children and their families, especially those interested in Our Lady and the Saints.

Really a beautiful book explaining the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The illustrations are lovely and depict so much love in the family and their love of the Virgin. This would make a great gift and a wonderful way to share the story. Loved it!

This book explains the traditions associated with Our Lady of Guadalupe within the context of her story. First, I love that this book is completely bilingual! Stories like this are perfect for multilingual families who often have grandparents that only speak Spanish. Second, the artwork was beautifully rendered making it perfect for a story time. The author did a fantastic job of making Our Lady of Guadalupe's story digestible for children and showcasing the beauty of Mexico's traditions around the holiday. I would love to add this book to my library's bilingual selection.

This is a beautiful book. The illustrations are gorgeous, the writing thoughtful and educational. This will inspire children to have a devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and teach them how to do so. I love that the novena was included as well as everything being written bilingually.

I received an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review :) thanks netgalley and loyola press!

This is such a beautiful story! I loved learning about La Virgen de Guadalupe. This book did amazing at telling her story and the illustrations are incredible. The best part is that there’s Spanish and English text which could help kids strengthen both languages. I’m positive kids will absolutely love this story. I will definitely be purchasing a copy for myself.

Gracias al autor, el editorial, y a NetGalley por esta historia.

This book is a gorgeous picture book. It reccounts the miraculous story of St Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe. The illustrations are beautiful, colorful, and very helpful in telling the story. Particularly valuable to this story is that it is told in 2 languages on each page. Students who speak English and want to learn Spanish can use this book to help reinforce what they are learning about Spanish. ESL stuents who use Spanish as their first language, can use this book for support in learning English. This is a very useful tool to promote literacy in children and adults. Thanks to Loyola Press and Net Galley for sharing this book with me! I will highly recommend it to teacher friends at church and in my community.

Beautiful book with beautiful illustrations! I am Mexican and am very aware of the celebrations for La Virgen de Guadalupe on December 12th, but never saw it represented anywhere in media or in books as a child. I know I would have loved this book and I hope families of all religious backgrounds and ethnicities will love learning more on the story.

This pretty bilingual picture book explains the origins of the Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron saint not only of Mexico but for the entire America. It also describes how believers celebrate Our Lady’s feast day, December 12, which kicks off the Christmas season in Mexico and elsewhere.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Loyola Press in exchange for an honest review.

Las Mananitas explores a Catholic religious tradition honoring the apparition of Mary to the Mexican people as Our Lady of Guadalupe. Lucia and Pablo prepare for their first celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Readers learn about praying a novena, see traditional clothing from the era of colonial Mexico, learn about creating an alter to honor Mary, and will join in the excitement the family has to honor this special feast day. The majority of the story reveals the history of Juan Diego, the saint that Mary first appeared to, and the miracle of her image on his clothing. This book is a great addition to add to any saint books that represent the Catholic faith. More importantly it takes a look into Mexican culture. As our culture becomes more diverse, having religious texts on our bookshelves like this one become increasingly important for representation. Those who are not Catholic may have questions about several concepts included in the book. Additional reading may be required.

I want to get this book for all of my little cousins and my friends who are teaching little ones at catholic school or CCD! The art style is so sweet and cozy, with lovely character designs, small details, and a beautifully soft and vibrant color palette. I loved the use and the layout of the bilingual text, and the incorporation of the main family’s dialogue to tell the story of la Virgencita. Our Lady’s design is so beautifully done - the butterflies! I am sure that this book will become a classic on many families’ nursery bookshelves.

A beautiful book with much needed representation! I enjoyed learning about Las Mañanitas. I appreciate that the book is bilingual offering a way for both Spanish speakers and English speakers to experience the book in their native language. Though I had not previously known about Las Mañanitas, I am happy to know such a beautiful celebration exists.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of this book.

Things I Love:
- The English and Spanish sentences are on the same page instead of separate pages except for a few deviations
- The introduction of what las mañanitas is.
- The illustration style is beautiful.
- Juan Diego's indigenousness is mentioned
- The list of the Nine Days of Novena

It's a quick read that's informative and is a very good jumping-off point for children who want to learn more.

I. Loved. This. Book.

Beautiful artwork. Story telling was so good. I am definitely buying this for me home religious education library. I want to share this with CCD students as well. This is a story many of us are familiar with but we may not know details. Adding the novena was just simply perfection as well.

I have nothing to add or say I didn’t like. This children’s book should belong in every parish library.