Miracle on 133rd Street

Starred review from September 14, 2015
Never underestimate the power of food to bring people together—especially at the holidays. So it goes in Sesame Street alum Manzano’s warm and funny tale. When Mami’s Christmas Eve roast won’t fit in the oven, José and his Papi take the meat to the local pizza shop to cook there. The neighbors they pass on the way are all mired in holiday crabbiness—feeling lonely, frazzled, or dead broke. But hours later, when father and son carry the roast back home, its enticing smell magically melts away any bickering or complaints, leading the whole building (and the pizzeria’s owner) to Jose’s family’s apartment for a boisterous celebration. Priceman’s rainbows of color and wintry swirls of white and blue capture a bustling New York City neighborhood as Manzano confidently unfurls an urban Christmas miracle with a distinct Boricua flair. Ages 4–8. Illustrator’s agent: Jennifer Lyons, Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency.

Starred review from September 1, 2015
On Christmas Eve, a large apartment house on 133rd Street in the Bronx becomes the site of a multicultural neighborhood party. Manzano, a Pura Belpre honoree and Maria on Sesame Street, teams up with Caldecott honoree Priceman for this vibrant story. The setting is the apartment of a Puerto Rican family preparing their special Christmas Eve dinner. Mami is trying to cook a huge roast, but it won't fit in her small oven. Papi and Jose decide to take the roast to their friend who owns a pizzeria to see if he can help. On their way, they meet several neighbors and friends of different ages and ethnic groups; all are stressed, lonely, or worried about money. When the father and son return with the cooked roast, its delicious aroma transforms everyone who smells it, wafting them along on swirls of contented delight. They all float up the stairs to the apartment for a Christmas Eve dinner, fitting everyone into just one small apartment-a Christmas miracle. The polished text uses dramatic pacing, dialogue, emotion, and characterization to excellent effect. Priceman's dazzling illustrations are filled with pulsating energy, glowing colors, and the radiant smiles of the neighbors who find community together. A magical, hopeful vitality permeates the art, reflected in multiple swirling elements wound through the illustrations. A scrumptious treat to be savored and enjoyed, just like a fine holiday dinner. (Picture book. 4-9)

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October 1, 2015

K-Gr 4-Jose and his family's Christmas Eve isn't going well. They are homesick for Puerto Rico, and their tiny apartment means a tiny tree and an oven too small to cook the Christmas roast. When Papi and Jose decide to take the roast to a local pizzeria to make use of the larger ovens, they find that the spirit of the holidays has passed by many of their neighbors, too, a multicultural cast of community members who have also lost the Christmas spirit. But when the aroma of the perfectly cooked roast Jose and Papi bring back travels through the apartment building, magical realism makes for a Christmas miracle as the whole building discovers the enjoyment of friends and family. Priceman's illustrations are lovely, with bright, cheerful colors literally swirling with the action of the season. The characters are detailed, diverse, and full of personality. VERDICT Families will enjoy curling up with this warm story about finding home in community.-Brooke Sheets, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2015
Preschool-G *Starred Review* As the story opens, Jose is downcast over his sparse Christmas tree, while his mother is equally upset that her oven is too small to hold their roast. What to do? Head to the local pizza parlor to see if the owner will let the family use his big oven. Along the way, they meet a multicultural mix of disgruntled neighbors and friends, none of them in a holiday mood. However, once the roast is cooked and traveling back home, its delicious aroma spreads good will to all in its path, and many join Jose's family for a joyous Christmas Eve celebration. Priceman's extraordinary illustrations fill up every page with bright colors and life. The art almost vibrates off the pages: lamps tilted, arms helter-skelter, buildings at an angle. The book has to be turned sideways at one point to see everything. Once the celebration is embraced, there are people everywhere, carrying instruments and chairs and cannoli and cookies. And this swirl is repeated in the snow and smells and stars. Mami's memories of Puerto Rico are in bright shades of yellows, but Jose's world is bright red, blue, orange, and green, all-inclusive, just like their celebration. Whatever traditions they follow, readers will delight in the joy of this book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

November 1, 2015
Mami rues having left Puerto Rico when the Christmas Eve roast won't fit in the family's tiny New York City apartment's oven. Little Jose jokingly suggests they use a pizza oven instead. That's not a bad idea! says Papi, and the two head out, carrying the roast through their snowy neighborhood to Regular Ray's Pizzeria. Nearly everyone is curmudgeonly along the way neighbors ( I thought someone's television was being stolen! ), kids bickering outsideuntil the roast's aroma knocks some holiday cheer into them and they all parade back to Jose's family's fourth-floor apartment to celebrate together. It's a cheerful Christmas story notable for its nonchalantly multiethnic cast and its vibrant urban setting, brought to high-spirited life in Priceman's bright, swirling gouache and ink illustrations. katrina hedeen

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)