Blanca's Feather - Hardcover

3.75

12 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 087358743X ISBN 13: 9780873587433

Publisher: Cooper Square Publishing Llc, 2000

Saint Francis of Assisi Day is celebrated in Mexico and many other countries, including the United States, each year on October 4. Since the twelfth century, men, women, and children have paraded their newborn farm animals and pets to the local church to receive a blessing that will protect them from disease and predators. In Blanca's Feather, Antonio Hernandez Madrigal weaves together the rituals of this ceremony with the special friendship between a girl and her pet. Rosalia can't wait to take her hen, Blanca, to the blessing, but when it's time to leave for the chapel, Blanca is nowhere to be found. When Blanca finally comes out from her hiding spot, she is surrounded by a fluffy batch of newly hatched chicks.

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Language Notes:

Text: Spanish, English (translation)
Original Language: English

Review:

This story of a child's faith, set in Mexico and illustrated with mysteriously textured folk paintings by a gifted Mexican artist, tells of Rosalia and how she manages to get her hen Blanca blessed, in absentia, on St. Francis of Assisi's Day. Yearly, on that October day, the faithful bring their newborn farm animals and pets to the local church for blessing. But small Rosalia cannot find her beloved hen anywhere. Frantic searching uncovers a single white feather of Blanca's and, though her brothers laugh at her, the faithful heroine brings that token to be blessed. Padre Santiago willingly sprinkles it with holy water, instructing the child to "rub the feather" on the hen's head once it is found. Though Rosalia fears her pet has fallen prey to a coyote, a happy surprise awaits her at home. Not only is Blanca found, but her five new chicks as well get their heads rubbed with that blessed feather. Rosalia and all listeners to her suspenseful tale can sigh with relief "knowing that Blanca and her hatchlings were at last protected." A comforting bedtime story. A 2000 Parents' Choice� Recommended winner.

Reviewed by Selma G. Lanes, Parents' Choice� 2000 -- From Parents' Choice�

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