DREAMS OF GREEN

When Lucía’s family moves to chilly Ohio from sunny Puerto Rico, the child worries about how the Three Kings will find them now that they’re so far away.

In January, Puerto Rico is full of green, from the grass to the leaves on the trees. Usually, Lucía collects these gifts for the camels ridden by the Three Kings, who once visited Jesus at his birth and who now visit children on Three Kings’ Day each year. But now that Lucía lives in snowy, gray Ohio, it’s unclear whether the Three Kings will be able to come at all. Will the camels eat arugula from the grocery store? When morning arrives, Lucía finds mallorcas baked by Mama and gifts left by the Three Kings—and the family calls Abuela and the cousins back in Puerto Rico. Lucía observes Three Kings’ Day just as the family did in Puerto Rico and celebrates a new path and life. The illustrations of Puerto Rico are vibrant, contrasting with the cooler palette depicting Ohio. During the Three Kings’ Day celebration, however, the saturation returns, bringing the beauty of the island to the mainland. Lucía and the family are brown-skinned and brown-haired. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A comforting holiday story about sustaining tradition while making room for new beginnings.