The Beautiful Lady: Our Lady of Guadalupe
Regardless of your beliefs, the tale of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a fascinating one, and Mora gives it a warm treatment befitting the beloved material. A framing device aims the story at young readers: two little girls look at a small statue of the Virgin Mary and ask Grandma Lupita, “Who’s that pretty lady?” So begins the tale: Juan Diego, the humble Aztec villager who, in December 1531, encountered a beautiful, floating woman who asked him to get the local bishop to build her a church. After the bishop demanded proof, the woman revealed to Diego a field of roses blooming despite the snow. When Diego unfolded his cloak to show the bishop the flowers, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was miraculously imprinted upon the cactus-fiber cloth. Mora approaches the story without tricks, using simple, delicate language, while Johnson and Fancher employ aged-looking earth-toned paintings and surround them with patterned borders when depicting the past. A two-page author’s note fleshes out the tale and describes Our Lady’s continuing influence. Grades K-3. --Daniel Kraus