Miracle on 133rd Street

by Sonia Manzano, Marjorie Priceman (Illustrator)

Overview

An urban family’s dilemma becomes a community celebration in this delectable holiday treat from Sonia Manzano, also known as “Maria” on Sesame Street.

It’s Christmas Eve and Mami has bought a delicious roast for a Christmas feast. But, oh no! It’s too big to fit in the oven. Jose and Papa need to find an oven big enough to cook Mami’s roast. As they walk from door to door through their apartment building, no one seems to be in the Christmas spirit. So they head down the street to find someone willing to help, and only when they do, lo and behold, the scent—the itself magical smell—of dinner begins to spread, and holiday cheer manifests in ways most unexpected.

Sonia Manzano from Sesame Street and two-time Caldecott Honor-recipient Marjorie Priceman have cooked up a Christmas tale about how the simplest things—like the tantalizing smell of Christmas dinner and the sharing of it—can become a holiday miracle.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689878879
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	09/22/2015
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	1,017,310
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	640L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sonia Manzano is best known as “Maria,” one of the first Hispanic characters on Sesame Street, a role she has delighted in for more than twenty years. She has earned fifteen Emmy Awards as a member of the Sesame Street writing staff, and is the author of the picture books No Dogs Allowed!, A Box Full of Kittens, and the Pura Belpré Award honored The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano. Sonia Manzano lives in New York City with her husband.

Marjorie Priceman, illustrator of many acclaimed picture books, has won Caldecott Honors for her illustrations in Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin! by Lloyd Moss and Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the Frist Hot-Air Balloon Ride, which she also wrote. She lives in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

Editorial Reviews

…[a] buoyant Christmas tale…Priceman's art unites tropical and urban tones, with a snowy holiday glow over it all.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

★ 09/14/2015
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. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

10/01/2015
K-Gr 4—José 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 José 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 José 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

School Library Journal

★ 2015-08-12
On Christmas Eve, a large apartment house on 133rd Street in the Bronx becomes the site of a multicultural neighborhood party. Manzano, a Pura Belpré 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 José 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)

Kirkus Reviews