Published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Summary: A little girl tells the story of her family’s trip to the border to visit her abuela who lives in Mexico. It’s a special day near Christmas called La Posada Sin Fronteras when the people of San Diego and Tijuana work to gather people from both sides of the wall that separates the two countries. It’s exciting to visit abuela, whom they haven’t seen in five years. The girl has brought a scarf she made, but the guards won’t let her pass it through the fence. Her little brother has drawn a large picture of Mary and Joseph, but the fence’s holes are too small for him to give it to abuela. When he starts to cry, his sister has an idea. Using knitting needles and yarn, she turns the picture into a kite that flies over the wall to the cheers of spectators on both sides. Abuela picks up the picture, and then starts the trip back to her home while the girl and her family head back to theirs. Includes an author’s note with additional information about La Posada Sin Fronteras. 40 pages; ages 4-8.
Pros: A heartwarming story that would make a unique Christmas read-aloud and could lead to some interesting conversations.
Cons: The whole event looks like a fun party, and the sadness that the family can’t be together isn’t really touched upon.