Published over 30 years ago, Nine Days to Christmas remains fresh and relevant. Ceci's first Christmas posada party and pinata have made her Mexican town come alive for generations of readers. "The youngest child will be completely transported by this lovely story".--The Atlantic. Three-color illustrations. (GoodReads)

Reds, pinks, and oranges burst forth from the pages in this beautifully illustrated book. A little girl in Mexico can't wait for her first Posada, especially the pinata. But then she becomes sad when she realizes that someone will break the beautiful pinata. This would be a great book to teach about Mexican culture and how they celebrate Las Posadas. ( )

This book is an amazing book to teach children about a different culture. By reading this book I've learned about a Mexican girl who was extremely excited to host her first posada, which we would call a Christmas party in America. I believe this book was quit long to engage younger children for so long, but by me learning as I read I was fascinated by the culture. Although the illustrations weren't as thrilling because the lack of color and typical pencil sketchy style, overall it was a good read. ( )

This book presents a very different type of Christmas story. It describes the tradition of Cesi's experience in Mexico. She is receiving her first piñada for Posadas, which are Christmas parties that take place eight days before Christmas. It is a very long story and would take lots of patience for K-3 children to sit down and read/listen to it in one sitting. Personally, I do not think the art is very interesting. It is drawn with pencil in a sketch-like style and very little color. Each page is filled with lots of design, clearly expressing the text, and it conveys the story well. I just do not think that children will find it very interesting. ( )

Awarded a Caldecott Medal in 1960, this lovely Christmas tale from co-authors Marie Hall Ets and Aurora Labastida follows the story of young Ceci, a Mexican girl who is excited to learn that she is to host her very first posada, or Christmas party. Full of eager anticipation, Ceci has many exciting experiences in the days leading up to the big party, culminating in accompanying her mother to the market to select a pinata. When the posada finally comes however, Ceci isn't sure how she feels about her lovely star pinata being broken apart...

Although Ets was an established children's author in the 1950s and 60s, and wrote and illustrated a number of picture-books, her co-author, Aurora Labastida, who was a librarian at the U.S. embassy in Mexico City during the period, only ever worked on this one book. Apparently it was partially written to counteract some of the more stereotypical depictions on Mexican people abroad in American children's books at the time. Although I am not in a position to judge how well the authors succeeded in that goal, Nine Days to Christmas does feel authentic and respectful to me, depicting a then contemporary child and her many daily activities with sensitivity and affection. The artwork, appropriately enough, given that this won the Caldecott Medal, is lovely. I particularly liked the nighttime scenes, with the glowing candles. Recommended to anyone looking for Christmas stories for younger children with a Mexican cultural setting. ( )