Josefina's Surprise: A Christmas Story

American Girl: Josefina #3

by Valerie Tripp, Jean-Paul Tibbles (Illustrator)

The second Christmas after their mother has died, Josefina and her three sisters find that participating in the traditions of Las Posadas helps keep memories of Mamâa alive.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Christmas, Historical, Middle Grade, Young Adult

69 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Valerie Tripp is a children's book author, best known for her work with the American Girl series.

She grew up in Mount Kisco, New York with three sisters and one brother. A member of the first co-educated class at Yale University, Tripp also has a M.Ed. from Harvard. Since 1985 she has lived in Silver Spring, Maryland. Her husband teaches history at Montgomery College.

Right out of college, Tripp started writing songs, stories, and nonfiction for The Superkids Reading Program, working with Pleasant Rowland, the founder of American Girl. For that series, Tripp wrote all the books about Felicity, Josefina, Kit, Molly, and Maryellen and many of the books about Samantha. She also wrote the "Best Friends" character stories to date, plays, mysteries, and short stories about all her characters.. Film dramatizations of the lives of Samantha, Felicity, Molly, and Kit have been based on her stories. Currently, Tripp is writing a STEM series for National Geographic and adapting Greek Myths for Starry Forest Publishing. A frequent speaker at schools and libraries, Tripp has also spoken at the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, The New York Historical Society, and Williamsburg.

Reviews

[Allison Tebo · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite American Girl also gets five stars of pure nostalgia.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far my favorite American Girl book ever! Abby loved learning about Los Posadas. We also loved how the sisters worked hard to repair the colcha embroidered altar cloth that their Mama had made for the church on Christmas Eve. And of course, Abby loved the story about the doll Nina. Each year Josefina's Mama had made Nina a new dress for Christmas, but this year her sister Clara did. A sweet story about sisters and Christmas.

[Olde American Spirit · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A song like this must go straight up to God like a prayer."

Oh, my gracious, the tears. This one is incredibly sad but also incredibly heartwarming as well.

And the faith content - wonderful.

Very impressed.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The great AG marathon continues.

This is the first plot I remembered pretty clearly from my 2013 read of the series, and I think it's the high point of the series. It's poignant, it's well-structured, and everything comes out just right.

As we open, grief over Mamá's death is still at the forefront of everything. The sisters are each cautious about jumping back into the usual merriment of the Christmas season - we learn that Mamá died not long before Christmas last year, casting a dark shadow over the holiday. Over the course of the book, Josefina and her sisters find ways to honor Mamá, softening their grief and helping it fade into the background a little. Each thread of the plot - the embroidery, the doll, Los Posadas - comes together to push the girls in that direction.

This book also works as a satisfying conclusion to the first half of the series. The first three books focus heavily on memories of Mamá - the flowers in Meet, Francisca's concern about reading in Lesson, now the various elements here. By the end of this book, we get a little catharsis, the subject feels fully explored, and we're ready to look forward instead of back for the second half of the series.


More Josefina babble

Meet Josefina | Josefina Learns a Lesson | Josefina’s Surprise | Happy Birthday, Josefina | Josefina Saves the Day | Changes for Josefina

A Reward for Josefina | Again, Josefina! | Josefina’s Song | Just Josefina | Thanks to Josefina | Josefina’s Short Story Collection

Secrets in the Hills | The Glowing Hearts

[A. L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always loved The American Girls series, since I was a kid. I’m enjoying reading the old ones, and the new with my daughter. Reading them now, with the perspective of a mother and teacher, I appreciate them even more. They are absolutely wonderful for young girls around age 9. Each book has a bit of unfamiliar vocabulary that is usually beautifully illustrated on the margins of the text, along with gorgeous full page illustrations. Each story is realistic, and despite the gap in time, relatable for young girls today. I love how they also show the history of the time period in an honest manner. They deal with some very mature topics in a way that is identifiable to a child. My daughter and I have had some good discussions about how life has changed for girls and women, and in what ways it hasn’t.

This particular book focuses largely on the grieving process. Josefina and her sisters lost their mother a little over a year ago, and are unsure how to approach this second Christmas without her. (A bonus from reading this: my daughter thought about how life would be without her mom, and for several days was very grateful for me.)

[✧Bella✧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was obsessed with American Girls when I was younger, and while it’s been awhile since I’ve reread a whole series (which I should really do soon), I have to at least reread this one every year. I swear, this is THE Christmas book for me. More sore than any of the other American Girl holiday books, or Christmas romcoms that I’ve read over the years. This book just encapsulates Christmas for me, and idk why. It’s def bittersweet, but smth about it is just perfect. I love it, and nothing beats reading it on Christmas Eve.

[Esther Filbrun · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another sweet story in the series. I loved seeing some of the old traditions coming through here, and although I know they aren’t necessarily Christian traditions, some of them are wonderful ways to bring communities together. My sister and I both enjoyed reading this story.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another charming reread!

[RaspberryRoses · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another extremely good one. I loved learning about New Mexican Christmas traditions, I loved seeing a more irrational side to the ever-sensible Clara. and of course.... GIRLS AND THEIR DOLLS!!!

[Morgan's Endless Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is super sad. But I really am loving it so far. So many Christian elements, such a great family dynamic, such sweet conversations about grief and moving on while not forgetting.

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5! Read this for my American Girl book club in January. 🤓

This was my first time reading a Josefina book actually and, man, it was so so sweet. Seeing Josefina and her sister's work through processing the grief of their mother's death and learning how to find happiness in celebrations when she is no longer there was actually so touching. I may or may not have teared up...

Anyways, super cute and really moving. I love how Josefina's stories are able to introduce young readers to pretty heavy topics such as death and grief in an easy to digest way.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story hit me hard. In this book, Josefina, exactly like me, is trying to get through her second Christmas after losing her mother. We both find our way through it


I also loved their Christmas traditions!

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for the podcast I’m currently listening to called “American Girls” by Allison Horrocks and Mary Mahoney.

In “Josefina’s Surprise”, the third book in the “Josefina: An American Girl” series, we see Josefina and her family struggling with their grief for their mother again in occurrence with Christmas. Josefina and her sisters don’t know how they will celebrate the season when there is someone clearly gone from their lives. Along with that, the alter cloth for the Christmas show has been ruined from the previous flood in the book that their mother made and the doll that would get passed down in their family is suddenly missing! Of course, in the end though, all these things work out and the Montoya family discovers that even as time goes on, their mother’s memory is always still around them - enduring.

I really like the “Josefina: An American Girl” series so much compared to “Felicity: An American Girl”. Josefina is girl you can really root for and just love because she is so kind and good - natured. By this point in Felicity’s books, Felicity had a sick mother she didn’t care about, had stolen horses, and was just doing whatever the hell she wants. I will say, I think Felicity’s books had maybe more enthralling content because SO MUCH was going on... But, unlike in the Josefina series, you had a hard time rooting for many of the characters because of their actions. Josefina and her family though... I don’t know. They are just phenomenal and great, sort of? They really care about each other, but also their community and work hard to always be doing the right/best thing, which is something we don’t really experience as much with the Merrimans. They are just great and even though the story doesn’t necessarily pack a punch, their characters definitely do. Out of all the books in the series, there really hasn’t been a bad one yet technically (yet again, much just doesn’t happen in these series and sometimes you can be bored), but, this one, by far, has been the best. I think the content in this story was one of the greatest because grief, especially at Christmastime, is one of the things that so many obviously dealt with. I love that this book series tackles grief, in general, but during Christmas, too, and how it weaves along with their traditions in New Mexico, how preforming those traditions makes the family upset, is just an interesting perspective that you don’t always see in children’s literature and I really enjoy that. I think it’s necessary to show kid’s this prescriptive because, even if they are children, they can still experience their own tragedies. Shit happens at every age. Furthermore, I also liked that Josefina had to deal with her feelings towards Ana and the grief Ana was going through along with her hesitation in being in the Christmas show because of their mother being gone. I just felt like it was all very authentic and difficult, but lovely and also heartwarming in the end...

I don’t know about you all who have read this series, but I think Valerie Tripp is doing a great job with this book series and I cannot wait to continue reading on to the rest of them. What will happen next at Josefina’s birthday? Only time will tell!

[SashayChantea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written depiction of grief during the holidays. Protect Josefina at all costs 💗

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 2 out of 5]

While it was fun to read about Christmas celebrations in New Mexico back in 1824, and the characters were sweet, I didn’t appreciate the stronger catholic bent to it. (Nowhere in the Bible does it say to pray for someone who has died.)
Josefina is sweet as usual, and I liked her relationship with her sister Clara. Francisca is kinder, but Ana still doesn’t seem to be married at all as her husband is never around or mentioned though now and then they mention that she has little boys.

Though it was a fun read once, I probably won’t be reading this book again.

[Kari Heggen (checkedoutbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an excellent portrayal of dealing with grief years after the loss of a loved one.

[Nora Neville · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good Christmas book. And I also liked learning about some of Josefina’s traditions.

[Don Heiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Josefina’s Surprise: A Christmas Story” by Valerie Tripp with illustrations by Jean-Paul Tibbles was released by Pleasant Company in 1997.  It is book #3 in the Josefina series in the American Girls Collection of books.  Josefina Montoya is of Hispanic descent.  She was born in New Mexico in 1814.  She is nine years old and is excited about all her wonderful Xmas preparation activities.  She has a sister Francisco who is very stubborn and impatient, Ana an older sister who is married with two children, and Clara a sister who is twelve years of age.  Her wealthy aunt Tia Dolores lives in Mexico City with a servant whose name is Teresita.  Her Papa manages his large family ranch. 
 
The book begins with a discussion of Josefina’s trip in December 1824 to a village church located about a mile from her family’s ranch. On the trip her sisters, aunt, and friends traveled together.  Their mission was to clean and decorate the church for Xmas liturgy and community celebrations.  Her father left early with a horse drawn cart loaded with bonfire wood to be used during Xmas church celebrations and parishioner dining events. Tia Dolores was Josefina’s mother’s sister.  Josefina’s mother died about a year earlier.  Tia spends a considerable amount of time visiting and caring for her New Mexico family nieces.  Josefina’s mother loved celebrating Xmas traditions.   Before she died, Josefina’s mother made a doll for her and named the doll Nina.  She also made clothes for Nina and gifted the clothes to her on her birthdays and on holidays.  When Josefina, her aunt, her Papa, and sisters arrived to help clean the church, laity musicians played Xmas music while they and others cleaned the church’s interior space.  Senor Garcia was the “mayordomo” who assigned tasks to parishioner work teams.  He told the workers that a storm destroyed a portion of the church roof.  He said “…church was full of storm debris and rubble.”  Josefina’s first task was to join a team that would wash and iron the church’s altar cloth.  Unfortunately, the cloth was destroyed by the storm.  She and her sister also made paper altar decorations called “Ramillies.”   In New Mexico, "Ramillies" are known as handmade altar decorations, often crafted from paper
 
The next chapter is about Josefina’s search for her lost doll Nina.  The last time she saw Nina a considerable amount of stuffing had fallen out of the doll’s body and the doll had tangled hair.  The doll had a pale blue skirt.  Josefina searched attic trunks, outside rock piles, storage rooms, barn lofts, kitchen areas, and loom rooms for a he lost doll.  In desperation she even searched the goat pen.  Tia Dolores saw Josefina roaming about the house and she asked her asked to find Clara because she wanted to speak with her about repairing an alter cloth their mother had made that was attacked by mice.  When Josefina went to Clara’s room she saw her holding Nina!  Josefina was elated that she had found the lost doll.  However, she saw Clara holding the doll and sobbing profusely.  After seeing Clara, Josefina left and told Tia about Nina and Clara’s grief.  Tia said Clara is crying because she misses not being with her mother on Xmas. 
 
Chapter 3 focuses on how the four sisters with Tia Dolores cleaned and repaired their mother’s altar cloth to replace the one destroyed by the church’s collapsed roof. They did the repair using several innovative and very artistic embroidery techniques.  The techniques they used are called “concha embroidery”.  During the repair, Tia Dolores shared a silver thimble the sisters’ mother many years ago gifted to her.  She told her nieces that the thimble is very useful for anyone doing cloth patching.  Clara coached her nieces on how best to untie knots in the wool thread they were using.  Clara also coached them about how to use the thimble to embroider a yellow blossom and how to stitch the blossom to their departed mother’s alter cloth.  Francisca also used the thimble to stitch the image of a sparrow to the alter cloth.  Her sisters said the sparrow looked more like a chicken.  They decided to call it a “very fat sparrow.”  Clara embroidered the image of feathers and stitched them on to the sparrow motif.  All the sisters enjoyed working as a team to creatively repair the altar cloth.
 
On the ninth day before Xmas the sisters and their aunt Dolores traveled with Papa to the village to be part of “Las Posadas” which is a musical performance celebrating Joseph and Mary’s journey to Bethlehem.  Their journey to the church stopped briefly at the home owned by the Sanchez family.  At the Sanchez home they celebrated with other travelers their community bonds and their love for each other with music, food, and fireside ceremonies.
 
The final chapter is titled “La Noche Buena” (The Good Night)! This chapter begins on Xmas Eve when Clara returns Nina to Josefina.  Clara replaced the doll’s missing stuffing; and Clara made a doll dress that was like Josefina’s favorite dress.  Josefina is truly amazed at the repairs made by Clara to Nina and the beautiful doll dress she made. In gratitude, Josefina tells Clara that they both will share Nina.  On Xmas Eve Tia Dolores gives the embroidered altar cloth to Senor Garcia.  He is very grateful.  When she gave the cloth to Garcia Senorita Sanchez rushed to the church altar and in the presence of Josefina, Papa, and Dolores she tells Senior Garcia that her daughter Margarita has become very ill and cannot perform the role of Mariana in the pageant that celebrates the birth of Christ.  When Josefina hears this, she asks Senor Garcia if she could perform the role of Maria.  He tells her she can perform the role of Maria.  Maria then turns to Papa and asks if he would take on the role of Jose.  Papa said “I will!”  Papa then puts Josefina on his burro and together they sang “Las Posadas” songs of “Christmas hope and happiness.”   At the front door of the church, they were joined by many people. Papa knocked on the church’s front door and when the door opened the pastor Padre Simon sang “Come in Weary Travelers, You Are Welcomed.” The church bells rang and Papa lifted Josefina off the back of the burro.  Clara then approached Josefina and handed her Nina.  Josefina tucked Nina into her rebozo.  Papa took Josefina’s right hand and Aunt Dolores took her left hand and they all walked into the church together.  Many parishioners followed them into the church. Inside the church Josefina looked at her mother’s beautiful altar cloth, she saw the wonderful flowers and she marveled at the beauty of the church’s candlelight.  Like a bird from heaven Josefina sang the entrance song.  While singing the song, she smiled knowing her Xmas prayers had been answered.  (P)

[Xyra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I'm in love with this whole series. Josefina is a brave girl and smart. She doesn't whine or complain.

This story resonated with me a lot. I remembered how my mom and I were the first Christmas after my dad died and the years thereafter.

It is interesting how with each book we learn more about Josefina, but her sisters grow too. One of the best parts was working on repairing the altar cloth for church. Plus it takes a lot of courage to be part of the pageant.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read these books in Spanish. I liked them a lot.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cultural aspect of the story is very enjoyable. Clara’s evasiveness is less so.

[Heatherblakely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just got really emotional about this one for some reason.

[Jen]

American Girl books were a staple during my early reading years. Do they hold up 25 years later? Currently working through the winter/holiday stories since it's that time of year.

See my review of Felicity's Surprise as a quick introduction.

This was the most realistic depiction of loss and grief that I've seen in an AG book so far. Josefina felt like a real human child processing emotions and trauma. Not just a quick action-packed story with a morality tacked at the end. Which is to say: I enjoyed reading this even as an adult, which is not the case for all the AG books that can feel like catalogs intended to sell products. Which I get. Childhood is a tactile experience, and playing with things, like Josefina's Niña, help us learn and process.

This book only had one moment near the end when I looked up and said aloud to my partner: uh oh. In the final chapter, Josefina has the courage to fill in as Maria in her town's tradition of going around and acting out the nativity scene until they find refuge at the church. She asks her father to play the role of José, and I guess this can be taken as a daughter connecting with her father. For me, though, it felt like one of those father-daughter dances where the daughter promises to remain virginial. Kinda weird. I described this to my partner, and he said: Oh no.

But when I read this book as a child, having not grown up in the church, I'm sure this scene meant nothing more to me than Josefina finding safety and comfort in spending time with her father.

[Sarah Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this third book that covers Josefina's story, Christmas is approaching and while exciting, it brings up lots of memories of their late mother for Josefina and her three sisters. Josefina would love to play the role of Maria in Las Posadas but fears she will be too emotional to participate.

Josefina's stories are very family centered, specifically on the loss of her mother and how the family is coping in her absence. Josefina is lucky to continue to get to know her aunt, her mother's younger sister better in this book, as it is a way to connect with her mother and hear memories of her life. Tia Delores is very considerate of the girls' feelings and does a lot to help remember their mother and contribute to the household.

This was a beautiful book in the series that really highlights religious experiences and traditions of people who lived in New Mexico during the time period of the book in the mid 1800s. While hopefully not all young readers who read this can relate to the loss of a close loved one at such a tender age, it focuses on relevant topics that girls from any time period can appreciate. I still think Josefina is much tamer in her exploits and adventures than other American Girls, but I do love her story and sweet disposition while navigating loss.

[TheBookishHobbit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful Christmas story that also shows the complexities of the first holiday after loosing someone precious to them. This time the sisters are struggling with Christmas because they aren't even sure if they should be celebratory since their mother passed away. This story in particular centers on Clara's struggles with grief. Since in their family it is a tradition to pass along a doll their mother made to the sister who is tuning eight. Josefina didn't get the chance since that was the year her mother passed away, so this was her year. Yet, Clara struggles to part with one of the last memories of their mother. However, it all works on in the end when she discovers she has something even greater than the doll, their mother's embroidery talents.

This story also gave an enriching lessons about how Mexicans celebrate Christmas (I say that because I'm not sure if other Latino countries have the same traditions of slightly different variations of it). I truly enjoyed this entry to the series even though it is April and found it enriching. Josefina's story is really growing on me.

[Amanda Van Parys · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Montoyas are trying to enjoy the second Christmas without Mama. There are family traditions that are painful for the girls because their mama isn't there to do them together. Tia Dolores encourages them to do the traditions anyway, they need to in order to move forward with their grief. When they discover their beloved altar cloth Mama sewed is destroyed in storage, the girls and Tia work together tirelessly to repair it. The tradition of passing off the doll, Nina, each girl gets at 8 years old on Christmas was forgotten the previous year when Josefina was 8. Now Josefina wants her time with the doll and Clara pretends the doll is lost so she doesn't have to pass it down. Josefina is angry when she finds out Clara still has her after she looked for Nina for days, but Tia explains that it was the last thing Clara was given from Mama before she died. When Josefina gets Nina from Clara with a new dress sewn by her, Josefina says they can share the doll. It is a touching story of moving through grief, keeping the memory alive of loved ones who are gone, and the importance of family traditions.

[Katie Kaste · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am working on my Spanish. A Surprise for Josefina is a great book to practice. I took turns reading the sections in English and then in Spanish. Both languages made the book truly come to life. Josefina and her sisters are coming to terms with the first Christmas without their mother. They work together to make sure their family is happy and remember their mother as well as baby Jesus. I really love Josefina. She is cute and kind. Valerie Tripp does a solid job bringing the Montoya family to life.

Estoy trabajando en mi español. Una sorpresa para Josefina es un gran libro para practicar. Me turné para leer las secciones en inglés y luego en español. Ambos idiomas hicieron que el libro realmente cobrara vida. Josefina y sus hermanas están aceptando la primera Navidad sin su madre. Trabajan juntos para asegurarse de que su familia sea feliz y recordar a su madre, así como al bebé Jesús. Me encanta Josefina. Ella es linda y amable. Valerie Tripp hace un trabajo sólido dando vida a la familia Montoya.

[DW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the whole thing in Spanish! There were a lot of words I didn't understand and it took me several days, but I made it and I got most of it.

Gotta say, she had a hard life. Not only did her mother die, but the beloved mantel (altar cloth) embroidered by her mother was moth-eaten and ruined. Usually children's stories seem very simplistic and overly cheerful to me, but that seemed rough. Of course, they are able to repair it and Clara turns out to have the mother's talent for embroidery, but it didn't seem fair.

Also, there's a family of four girls and they have just one doll that is handed down between them. That also seems like something less likely to happen today. I guess we just have so much more stuff now.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking for a simple Christmas read I picked this up - of course I made easy work of it as an adult reading a young person's tale, but there is so much here! The more I thought on this book and this series...the entire American girl series I feel in love with it and will now read more.
The lessons in this book go deep if you let them...and you should and hopefully you are sharing them with a younger person in your life.
A life of reading has lead to many wonderful books and I hope that this series will lead younger reads to find the love of reading, understanding and continue to grow.

[Marti (Letstalkaboutbooksbaybee) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book did a lovely job of showing how you grieve a lost loved one during the holidays


HOWEVER

Am I crazy for thinking Clara should’ve been able to keep the doll??? It’s one of the last things she has of her mothers, and because her older sisters started some tradition of passing the doll down to younger siblings she just has to give it up??? She didn’t agree to that!!! Also, Josefina is the youngest which means she doesn’t have to pass it down and gets to keep it forever???

That’s bogus