Nine days to Christmas : a story of Mexico /
Marie Hall Ets.
- New York, New York : Viking Press, (c)1959.
- 32 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
Also published by Puffin Books 1991. Art techniques used: Pencil drawings on dinobase with bursts of colored pencil and contrasting white.
Generations of readers have treasured this 1960 Caldecott Medal winner and its tale of a little Mexican girl's excitement at the approach of Christmas. Ceci eagerly awaits Las Posadas, the traditional nine-day series of yuletide celebrations. This year she'll lead the candlelight procession that reenacts Mary and Joseph's trek to Bethlehem. Meanwhile, Mother takes her to the old marketplace to choose her very first piņata. Ceci is dazzled by the colorful array of options, and after making her choice has second thoughts about the fate of her piņata once the posada takes place. Graced by evocative illustrations, this international holiday classic is now available in a lovely hardcover edition. "The youngest child will be completely transported by this story," noted The Atlantic, and readers of all ages will be charmed by the child's-eye view of Mexican culture.