Folklore Book Review: The Legend of the Poinsettia

The Legend of the Poinsettia

"'Ah, Lucida, any gift is beautiful because it is given,' the old woman told her. 'Whatever you give, the Baby Jesus will love, because it comes from you.'" - The Legend of the Poinsettia

Author/Illustrator: Tomie dePaola

Publisher: The Putnam & Grosset Group

Copyright Date: 1994

Number of Pages: 32 pages

Reading Level: Pre-K, Grades 1-3

Genre: Folklore

Cost: $6.88 (Amazon)

Rating: ★★★★★

 

The Legend of the Poinsettia is a story about a young girl, Lucida, who does her best to help her parents and siblings. Her mother is asked to weave a new blanket for the Baby Jesus to be wrapped in during the Christmas ceremony at church, and Lucida helps her dye the wool and weave it together. They make part of the blanket together, but Lucida's mother gets sick and will not be able to finish in time. Every family brings the Baby Jesus a gift on Christmas, but, now that the blanket is not finished, Lucida does not know what her family will give. Lucida is heartbroken, and throughout this book you will see who she meets and what she does when she does not have a present on Christmas. 
 

The focus of The Legend of the Poinsettia is on Christmas and giving gifts to the Baby Jesus. Not all people are religious, nor do all people celebrate holidays, so this book would not be used in the classroom to discuss those topics. However, it tells a legend and has a good moral story about the meaning of gifts. So, this book could be used in a unit about legends where the students are asked to write their own legend about an object or symbol and how it came to be or how it got its meaning. This book could also be used to talk about culture.

 

Book Rating:

	★★★★★	★★★★	★★★	★★	★	COMMENTS
PLOT	Plot is well developed with all five elements of a good plot structure (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution).	Plot is developed, but lacking one of the five elements of plot structure.	This book has a decent plot, but is lacking two of the five elements of plot structure.	This book has a weak plot that is lacking three of the five elements of plot structure.	This book does not have a defined plot, and is lacking four or more of the five elements of plot structure.	★★★★★ I give The Legend of the Poinsettia five stars for its plot because all five elements of good plot structure are incorporated and they tell the story about how the poinsettia came to be the Christmas flower.
CHARACTER	The characters are well developed, have personality, and are believable.	Characters are well rounded, but lack in personality or they are not totally believable.	Characters are somewhat developed, and lack in personality or they are not totally believable.	The characters are underdeveloped, lack in depth and are not believable.	The characters are not developed   so the readers cannot connect to the book.	★★★★★ I give The Legend of the Poinsettia five stars for its characters. The main character, Lucida, is well developed throughout the book, and her personality can be seen as she tries to figure out a present for Baby Jesus on Christmas.
PACING	The story flows freely and is not rushed or slow.	The story moves freely for the most part, but there are a few spots where it feels rushed or slow.	The story moves freely for about half of the book, but the other half is rushed or slow.	The story often moves too fast or too slow and does not move freely.	There is no pacing in the story, which makes it difficult to read.	★★★★★ I give The Legend of the Poinsettia five stars for pacing. It is a short book, but it has a good plot that helps it move freely throughout the entire story.

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