Abuelos

by Pat Mora, Amelia Lau Carling (Illustrator)

In this delightful story two young children, Ray and Amelia, discover an old New Mexican tradition -- 'los abuelos' -- for the first time.

Long ago, in the cold midwinter of Northern New Mexico, village men would go up into the mountains, disguise themselves as scary old men and then go down to the village to see who had been good and who had been bad. The villagers would gather around huge bonfires, or luminarias, where the abuelos -- wearing masks and covered with soot -- would tease the children and then have them sing or dance around the fire. Afterwards everyone would enjoy a party with traditional treats such as bizcochitos (anise cookies) and empanadas (turnovers with sweet fillings).

This midwinter masquerade, which contains elements of Spanish and indigenous Pueblo culture, as well as sharing features common to solstice celebrations in other parts of the world, died out in New Mexico for a time, but has been revived in recent years.

Genres: Picture Books, Cultural, Childrens, Latino

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2008

About the author

Pat Mora (born 1942) is a female Mexican-American author and poet. Pat Mora was born in El Paso, Texas. She is married and has 3 grown children.

Reviews

[ConnieLettow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book that introduces a winter tradition where the men of the pueblos dress up as old men of the mountains and chase the children asking if they have been good. There is a large luminaria, and a big dance with bizcochitos and other food. It is a fun book and my daughter asked to hear it over and over.

[Cheyanne Schlalos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with two of my Spanish students and it was wholesome, because they helped me pronounce a couple of the words. I would read this in a class when talking about culture or language.

[Irina Ostapa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting. I would use this book for students individual reading. The Hispanic words in the book are a nice touch.

[Jessica Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This multicultural book tells the story of a young Hispanic girl named Amelia who lives in New Mexico. She is experiencing the tradition of "los abuelos" for the first time, which is when old, sooty men come down from the mountains to frighten children and make sure they behave. It is very similar to the tradition of Santa Claus because it is the Hispanic version of a make-believe figure making children act right. The entire community gathers below the mountains and Amelia becomes very scared as she waits for the abuelos to come down. When they come down, one of the abuelos starts to chase Amelia and her brother, but his mask comes off and she realizes that it is really her uncle who wears funny shoes. He asks her to keep it a secret and she enjoys pretending to be chased by him as the other children run away. At the end, the community and the abuelos all have a big party of dancing and food. Throughout the story, there are short Spanish phrases spoken and plenty of traditional Hispanic food is mentioned. This story would be great to use to teach young children some simple Spanish words and what foods are included in Hispanic cultural traditions. The illustrations are adequate and tell the story nicely, but there is nothing that makes them stand apart from other picture books. I would enjoy using this book to teach my students about a culture other than their own, but the story doesn't have the best plot line. I would use this book for children ages 7-9 to teach them about unique Hispanic traditions and culture.

[L13_melissa_prokop · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great! It is about an old New Mexican tradition where "abuelos" come from the mountain top to visit the village to see if the children have behaved well. They dress up in masks. A little girl is experiencing this and is scared of seeing the "abuelos." Her uncle visits while they prepare for the celebration. When the abuelos finally come down she screams and runs and taunts the abuelos.. She notices one of the old men wearing shoes like her uncle and then his masks comes off and her fear is relieved as she realizes these men are people they all know and it isn't as scary as she thought. A funny line from the book is "jingle bells, abuelo smells." My students found this really funny! The illustrations are great in the sense the girls uncle's shows are revealed when he walks into the house and readers are given a chance to connect the shoes from the page when the uncle visits to the shoes of the abuelo before it is revealed who is under the mask. It is great for making and confirming predictions using illustrations. It is a longer story, but a very fun story! I recommend this book.

[529_Quincy Owens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abuelos by Pat Mora is a culturally specific story highlighting one Mexican cultural practice. Abuelos come down from the mountain once a year to make sure all the children have been behaving. In actuality the Abuelos are really various community members in disguise. I would parallel this tradition to American myths like the boogie monster or Santa Clause. Good little children who mind their parents have nothing to worry about, but bad little children are taken away. The psychological effect of these stories take advantage of young children’s uninhibited imagination giving parents a “fear” tactic when they are not around. Most children quickly realize their parents do not know or see everything. It is in these parents benefit to have supernatural “custodians” watching over their children whenever they are out of sight. I would recommend this book to anyone in 1st grade and beyond.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story tells of a tradition that the author discovered in Santa Fe, New Mexico of a mid-winter masquerade where villages dress in scary costumes, bonfires are lit, and children are chased by Los Abuelos, reminding children of the need to mind their parents and learn their prayers. It is reminiscent of community traditions everywhere and the story told is that kind of scary that everyone likes. Young Amelia tells the story, and after some chasing and screaming around the bonfire, she discovers that one abuelo especially seems familiar, her Uncle! The night ends with wonderful food and dancing. It’s a story to share and find common parts with other celebrations, like Halloween.

[Tina B]

"northern Mexico, grandfathers, cautionary tale"

[Angela Dahle · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cool tale! I'm so using it on my kids! IT would be fun to make this one a tradition! Very good descriptives in this book.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hated the illustrations and the text was cheesy.