Countdown for Nochebuena

In English and Spanish, this concept book counts up Christmas Eve rituals among a tight-knit Latinx-cued family, taking readers up to 12—the stroke of midnight—and back again. Hernández Bergstrom employs brief lines (“Una familia/ brimming with joy.// Dos helpful tíos/ preparing the roast”) to survey the family, portrayed with various skin tones, as they cook, dance, eat, make music, and open gifts at midnight. An emphasis on the joy of being together radiates from the pages, all portrayed in a warm graphical style, which highlights grids of “platos ricos” and “hot platos packaged to go,” and a joyful intergenerational group dancing the night away. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)