Member Reviews
I love the care, nostalgia and appreciation the book had on Puerto Rican culture, especially on a beautiful holiday like it's Three Kings' Day. The illustration is beautiful, it was an easy bilingual read for children and it holds a warm feeling for connecting with family. This is a pride of work to teach children the beauty of Puerto Rico's Christmas and the importance of sharing traditions in creative ways.
Thank you so much to Familius and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.
Three Kings day is a special celebration following the story of the three kings as they went to Bethlehem to visit the baby Christ on the 6th January and how their kindness, generosity and love was spread all around. This story follows little Sofia as she learns all about the kings for this special holiday.
What a beautiful picture book, this is an absolutely wonderful story to share with your children regardless of if it is your culture or religion, this story is beautiful and comes with so much love and warmth. It shares about the kindness of the men, the storyline of what happens after Christ was born, what it feels like celebrating with your whole family, who show up especially for this holiday and the magic of what the men and their camels drop off the morning of January 6th.
It’s so very educational as you are learning about this wonderful holiday, you also have more details in the back of the book. You are able to learn a little Spanish as some of the language is wonderfully used within it, with a glossary at the end. Or if you are fluent in Spanish there is a version written fully in Spanish.
The illustrations were just absolutely beautiful and detailed, you could see so much around the rooms which I loved, I also loved seeing Sofia move the three kings as they got closer as the twelves days went by of the holiday, it was so beautiful.
I do highly recommend this book, it was a beautiful read, it makes a perfect after Christmas read as then you can start enjoying this holiday or start learning about it and how others celebrate it. It brings the magic of this holiday to many children and adults that may not know it even exists.
I love children's books that teach about other cultures and bring the flavors and colours of various festivities. Although we recognize Three Kings Day in my country, we do not celebrate it as such and I had no idea it has such a tradition in Puerto Rico, Mexico and other countries. I loved the tradition of moving the wooden kings closer to Bethlehem for 12 days and the custom with the shoebox! I am infinitely grateful for books like this, as they give me a great opportunity to teach my two little ones about other cultures in an accessible and beautiful form. The illustrations are superb. I also very much appreciate the recipe at the end - it will be a perfect thing to make together with the kids to celebrate the Three Kings Day after Christmas.
A heartwarming story of a little girl named Sofia, who is learning how to celebrate Three Kings Day. When Sofia's abuela brings her santos of the three wise men, she teaches Sofia how to use them in her holiday decorations, inching them closer each day to the manger. When it's finally Three Kings' Eve, Sofia's abuela teaches her another tradition: taking a shoebox, leaving grass inside for the wise men's camels, and waking up to small gifts and candy! Along with adorable illustrations, wonderfully weaved throughout the story is a sense of gratitude and the warmth of loved ones gathering during the holiday season.
(The end notes also include a Spanish glossary, as well as a recipe for chocolate coquito - Puerto Rican eggnog!)
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a really nice read and would be perfect as a Christmas present as the holiday falls on January 6th, after Christmas. The colour and images were bright and very well done. The illustrations were perfect. I liked that this book teaches you about a holiday, one I had only heard about and never knew of. There is also a glossary and a recipe at the back which I think is a really nice touch at the end. A lovely, heartwarming yet educational book.