Aquiles Nazoa, illustrated by Ana Palmero Cáceres, translated by Hugh Hazelton,
A Small Nativity
Groundwood Books, 2007.

Rating: G*

The text of this book was written by Aquiles Nazoa, a Venezuelan poet and journalist who died in 1976. This book is a translation of the text originally published in Spanish in 1990. The illustrations were created for this translation by Venezuelan artist Ana Palmero Cáceres.

The artist’s notes at the end of the book provide the reader with more information about the illustrations by describing some of the process used in creating them and giving explanations of the symbols within the illustrations. While the book can be enjoyed purely on its own, these notes provide an additional level of understanding to the text and pictures.

The story of the Nativity is told quite simply in this book, making it most suitable for those who already have some understanding of the traditional version. The strength of this book, in my opinion, is the view of the Christmas story from a different culture.

The book would be most suitable for more mature students who could appreciate the variant telling of the Christmas story and find enjoyment in discovering the meaning of various symbols embedded in the pictures.

The book would be appropriate for both school and public libraries, especially those who serve patrons from Latin America. The book would support Social Studies curriculum dealing with study of different cultures as well as Christmas themes.

Thematic Links: Christmas; Artists; Artwork; Multiculturalism; Symbolism

Linda Berezowski
Vol. 13, number 2
December 2007

*Rating System:
E - Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!
G - Good, even great at times, generally useful!
A - Average, all right, has its applications.
P - Problematic, puzzling, poorly presented.