Elena’s Serenade, Campbell Geeslin
Illustrated by Ana Juan
Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2004.
Ages 4-8

PJ and I read this book last night.  We borrowed it from our local library.  I thought I’d share my review with the Mixtkids community.  Hope you find it useful.

“In Mexico, there’s a little girl, Elena, the daughter of a glassblower.  Elena decides she wants to blow into a long pipe and make bottles and vases, just like her father.

His response, “Who ever heard of a girl glassblower?”

Girls can’t be glassblowers? Or can they be?

Angry and determined, little Elena sets out on a fantastic journey to Monterrey, the city where all the great glassblowers come from.  Elena’s journey is filled with mystical encounters and magical characters.  In Monterrey, she amazes the local craftsmen with her skills and eventually returns home to her father and is able to prove her glassblowing art and gain his approval.

A wonderful story, filled with magic, mystery, love, perseverance and pride.  The illustrations are fantastic, as Ana Juan vividly depicts the Mexican landscape with color and amazing imagery.   Campbell Geeslin did an outstanding job capturing the life and language of a little Mexican girl with a dream.  We loved it and you will to.”

~ Renae Valdez-Simeon