Childrens Book Review of A Gift of Gracias: Legend of Altagracia by Julia Alvarez and Beatriz Vidal

María appreciates life on her family’s finca (farm). Her parents are happy in their new homeland, the Dominican Republic, despite happy memories of pre-emigrant lifestyles in Valencia, Spain. They cultivate olives while regretting their homeland’s oranges. But soil and weather sometimes do not sustain the best of small-farming endeavors. Despite contrary assertions by family friend Quisqueya, Papá equates failed crops with city jobs. He and Quisqueya get a basket of oranges for one such urban opportunity. The sunrise-looking, sweet-tasting fruit gives María a refreshing but unusual night’s sleep despite an evening-long cry over her orange pit-filled bowl. María has dreams of:

• Giving thanks per Quisqueya’s prompts;
• Glimpsing a blue-robed, golden-skinned, red-dressed, star-crowned, tree-shrouded beauty;
• Planting orange seeds.

In the morning, María describes her dream. With her parents and Quisqueya, she gathers the seeds from the previous night’s feast. All four give thanks as they place each seed in the barren ground. Within months, not years, they have fruit-bearing, full-grown orange trees. Papá is happy with bounteous harvests to sell in city markets. But he and Quisqueya leave for home without finding any image of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia (Our Lady of High Thanks) for María.  Our Lady nevertheless lets stars drop onto Quisqueya’s blanket during a stop homeward. Like Juan Diego and his rose-filled cape in Guadalupe, Mexico, Quisqueya opens his blanket at home to find Our Lady’s perfectly preserved image for María.

A Gift of Gracias acts as a colorful, endearing, inspiring back-story to two of the Dominican Republic’s most beloved icons. Dominican Republicans consider Our Lady Mary (18 B.C.? – A.D. 41?) the island’s patron saint. They deem as the earliest Marian shrine in the Americas La Basílica Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia in Salvaleón de Higüey. The basilica cathedral indeed exists on the original, sixteenth-century location of María’s family farm. Its scenery finds lovingly accurate contexts and respectfully colorful depictions in:

• Ageless, elementary school-friendly words by Dominican Republic-born writer Julia Alvarez;
• Green- and orange-rich, small-brushed gouache and watercolor artistry of Argentine illustrator and storyteller Beatriz Vidal.

This must-own book gives timeless perspectives on Latin America’s fascinating cultures.  

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Mexico's image of Our Lady Mary appearing on Juan Diego's rose-filled cape in Mexico City's northern neighborhood of Guadalupe enjoys worldwide renown; less well known is image of Our Lady on Quisqueya's blanket on Caribbean island of Dominican Republic.
Within Taino culture, Quisqueya, a name for the Dominican Republic, translates as "Mother Earth" or "Mother of All Lands." Our Lady Mary is the patron saint of the Dominican Republic.
image of Our Lady Mary, Virgin of Guadalupe; Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, northern Mexico City, central Mexico: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1531_Nuestra_Señora_de_Guadalupe_anagoria.jpg

Shrine of Our Lady of Altagracia in Salvaleón de Higüey
Salvaleón de Higüey, eastern La Altagracia Province, eastern Dominican Republic: MRDU08 (MRDU08 at English Wikipedia), CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:City_overview_of_Salvaleón_de_Higüey.JPG

Basílica Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia, inaugurated January 21, 1971, has displayed 16th-century painting of Virgin Mary as Our Lady of High Grace since the structure's completion in 1970.
Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia: Rabanus Flavus, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Imagen_de_Nuestra_Señora_de_la_Altagracia.jpg

"An interview with Julia Alvarez" (8:52)
Uploaded January 18, 2007 by Boston Latino TV to YouTube ~ URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDvFGbGC3uA

Alvarez, Julia. 2005. A Gift of Gracias: The Legend of Altagracia. Illustrated by Beatriz Vidal. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers.