Product Description

The Lau family, from the Americas Award winning La Tienda de Mama y Papa, has been invited to spend Easter with their cousins in Antigua, Guatemala. Although they are Chinese and Buddhist, Mami loves the pageantry of Easter.

Antigua, the former colonial capital of Guatemala, is renowned for its Easter processions in which very old statues are carried through the streets. Not only are the statues outstanding examples of Spanish colonial art, they are carried by hundreds of penitents, wreathed in incense. One of the most striking and original features of Antigua's Easter celebration is the creation of spectacular sawdust carpets. The cobblestone streets of the city are lined with these beautiful carpets, which people spend hours creating, only to see them disappear as the processions walk over them.

On the morning of the most important procession - that of the church of La Merced - the heroine of the story makes her own small carpet with the help of her cousins and brothers and sisters. But when she realizes that the procession will destroy her precious rug, she tries to stand in the way.

Guatemalan and Chinese religious observances, the Virgin of Guadalupe and the Goddess Kuan Yin, Easter processions and dragon boat races, piñatas and baptisms and Chinese tamales all weave in and out of this story about beauty, religious celebration and tolerance.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1628960 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3–Carling introduces memories of a traditional Holy Week celebration in her adopted country. The Lau family, who emigrated from China to Guatemala when the author was a child, enjoys watching preparations for the Easter week ceremonies in Antigua. On Good Friday, the townspeople lead daylong processions through the streets, carrying statues depicting Jesus's death and resurrection. The narrator, her siblings, and cousins create a carpet made of sawdust, fruit, and flowers to decorate the path the procession will follow. At the last minute, the girl realizes that the carpet will be ruined if walked upon. She considers halting the marchers until a neighbor explains, "This is the custom. We make the rugs as offerings to life." Two days later, on Easter Sunday, the carpet makers begin planning for the next year's design. Intricately detailed and softly colored childlike drawings created with watercolors, pastels, and colored pencils draw the eye around the page. There is a glossary, but the Spanish words sprinkled throughout the text are easily understood. This story is a happy commingling of two cultures and their traditions.– Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
K-Gr. 3. A Chinese family living in Guatemala visits relatives in Antigua during Holy Week. A young girl describes going outside with her cousins to watch their neighbors making beautifully patterned carpets of colored sawdust in the street to prepare for the religious procession the next day. Using leftover sawdust, she and her companions make their own small carpet. Though she is distressed when the feet of the cucuruchos bearing platforms with holy statues destroy their work, the coming of Easter and her youngest cousin's baptism lift her spirits. An appended glossary defines unfamiliar words and terms. Carling, who grew up in Guatemala and now lives in the U.S., introduces Chinese as well as Guatemalan traditions in this intriguing, unusual multicultural offering. Her sensitive portrayal of the child's point of view keeps the story grounded and enhances its appeal. In watercolors, pastels, and colored pencils, the lively illustrations offer colorful impressions of the characters and places of the story. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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"Joyous, vivid illustrations and clear text sensitively intermingle Chinese and Guatemalan customs and beliefs."