Magda's Pinata Magic / Magda y la Pinata Magica

by Becky Chavarria-Chairez

In an all-new adventure, Magda Madrigal returns in her second book to celebrate another family birthday. This time, Magda's got a task that requires a little creativity--and a little magic. Magda's tío has purchased the perfect piñata for her little brother's birthday. In fact, Gabriel's piñata is so perfect that he insists that no one break it. What fun is a birthday party without a piñata? But how can the neighborhood children break the piñata without breaking Gabriel's heart? Magda's so worried about the conundrum that she can's get any sleep. Finally, with the help of her abuela's resourceful little cat, Tita, Magda works some midnight magic and engineers an ingenious solution to save the party and the piñata. The talented creators of Magda's Tortillas / Las tortillas de Magda have reunited to delight children with a whimsical tale featuring the birthday tradition of the piñata.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Latinx, Spanish Literature

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 6, 2000

Reviews

[Jose Juan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Magda’s little brother Gabriel is gettting ready to celebrate his birthday party. Their uncle Manuel has brought a cowboy pinata for little Grabriel. But when Gabriel finds out that the pinata is going to destroyed he is devistated. Magda didn’t like to see her little brother upset so she stayed up all night to come up with a plan to save the pinata.She comes up with some great inovations that cause the candy to pour out of the pinata with out it being destroyed.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

We read this for Spanish Club; it's a great bilingual book. My favorite thing about the book was the black and white kitty who was very curious about everything and kept checking out what was going on. The kitty reminded me of my own pet, Gunner, who enjoys observing (and smelling too!) the world around him, and being a part of my day, whether I'm packing a lunch in the kitchen or relaxing with a good book on the sofa. Kitties make everything better! :)

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome because it shows kids that English is not the only form of literacy. They can read the English version and then the Spanish version and then compare the two. This book can be used to teach Spanish speaking students English and vice versa. A great book to have in the classroom.

[Kendra Kinnan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was only average and that it was a lot of text on each page. However, something that I really did appreciate was that each page was split into both english and spanish. That is not something you find in books everyday.

[Sandra Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story full of tradition! I love that it is in both language for EL students. The story is about Uncle Tio who buys a pinata for Gabriel that looks just like him. He eventually is bothered by the fact that this pinata will be broken. Problem. Then Magda works up a way to make it so that when you shake the pinata the candy falls, so the Pinata can remain intact. Solution.

Great problem/solution story with traditional culture mixed in.