Book Review: Hooray, It's Three Kings Day!: A Picture Book for Epiphany
Before diving into the review, I wanted to break down what is Three Kings Day and what is celebrated on that day. Every place celebrates it differently but this is how my Mexican family celebrated Three Kings Day.
What is Three Kings Day?
This holiday is celebrated as the day the three wise men first saw baby Jesus and brought him gifts. It is celebrated in many Spanish speaking countries like Mexico and Spain. It is celebrated on January 6th. Generally, this is when kids would get presents instead of December 25th.
How is Three Kings Day celebrated?
I have spent many Three Kings Day in Mexico and it is a very fun celebration. I am sure every town, city and country have their own traditions. In my town, the kids would leave their own shoe in the window sill the day before, January 5th, so the Three Wise Kings would know to leave presents.
Another tradition we had and this is popular in many countries, is to eat a sweet bread called “Rosca de Reyes” or Wreath of the Kings. This is an oval bread with delicious filling and it also contains several little plastic babies (signifying Baby Jesus). If you encounter a plastic baby, you are responsible for cooking tamales on February 2, “Día de la Candelaria”. It is very fun to eat rosca because of the surprise element of finding a plastic baby.
Book Review
Annette M. Clayton who is from Puerto Rico, writes a beautiful story about a little girl named Sofia and her grandmother who is visiting from Puerto Rico. The grandmother brings with her three wooden figurines, the Three Wise Kings. She tells Sofia the story of the Three Wise Kings and every day they move the figures closer to the Little Bethlehem display.
As I said before, every family has their own celebrations and I love how the author included this tradition in the book. The illustrations by Jone Leal compliment the story beautifully. The author also includes a glossary, recipes and even a guide of how other countries celebrate Three Kings Day.
This is a great holiday gift! I would recommend gifting this to families who celebrate Three Kings Day. It’s an amazing book to keep traditions alive.