Alidis Vicente

I don't normally read/review middle-grade books, but I requested this one from the publisher because it's set in Puerto Rico. (Thanks to the publisher for providing me a review copy.)

For those who don't know, Three Kings' Day is a holiday celebrated in Puerto Rico and much of Latin America that essentially extends the Christmas celebration through January 6. On the eve of Three Kings' Day, children leave boxes of grass and glasses of water under their beds for the three kings' camels, and in the morning they wake up to piles of gifts where the grass and water used to be. (If you think it sounds a lot like leaving cookies and milk for Santa and his reindeer, except more biblical, you're right.)

The feisty little narrator of this book is Detective Flaca, who starts off by asking you to sign a confidentiality agreement promising not to reveal her awesome detection methods to any villains. Cute! She's not on board with a surprise trip to Puerto Rico, and is determined to figure out why her parents are making her miss the first few days of school to celebrate this strange new holiday in a place she doesn't remember having ever visited.

There's a sweet little moral about the value of family and not spoiling things for others, and an important lesson about the difference between the Spanish words for boogers and mosquitos.

As a bonus, the second "half" of the book is the same story, but in Spanish, so you can reread it and improve your Spanish skills!… (mehr)