Labels

Happy Birthday, Josefina!: A Springtime Story (American Girl: Josefina #4) by Valerie Tripp

 

Summary (from the publisher): Josefina hopes to become a "curandera" or healer like Tia Magdalena, and she is tested just before her tenth birthday when a friend receives a potentially fatal snakebite.

Review: In this book, Josefina spends some time with her aunt Magdalena, who is her father's older sister. Magdalena is a curandera or community healer and Josefina wonders if she would like to be a curandera when she is older. But Magdalena tells her that it's not something you choose, but innate traits that you must discover if you possess. Later, while visiting her friend Mariana, Josefina has an encounter with a rattlesnake that helps her understand how she responds in emergencies when others need her help. 

This book had more action than previous Josefina books! The rattlesnake encounter later on in the book proved to be very tense and had my daughters both gasping in concern. My daughters also really enjoyed reading about Josefina taking care of the orphaned baby goat. I liked learning more about the role of the curandera during the 1820s and how they might have treated their patients with herbal remedies. It's so fun reading these books and getting insight into the history of the time period and place in such a fun way. 

Stars: 4

Related Titles: 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts