El mejor regalo del mundo: La leyenda de la Vieja Belén Book

This narrative tells the story of an old Dominican folk tale about La Vieja Belen,who brings gift to the poor children in the country after The Three Kings have come. This tale tells of how La Vieja Belen got started, which happended when she met Los Tres Reyes Magos/The three Wise Men on their way to see the newborn King, Jesus. They asked La Vieja Belen to join them, to which she responds she will follow later on. A week later she gathers her things and tries to find the newborn King, who she could not find, so every time she found a poor child during her search she left them a gift in case it was the newborn King she was looking for. La Vieja Belen still searches to try and find him and every year a week after Los Tres Reyes Magos have left children gifts, La Vieja Belen comes along and does the same. As a teacher this is something that I can use in my classroom to show how other countries, in particular Hispanic countries, have different characters as part of their traditions. This would be a great story for any child in the class who happens to be Dominican to learn about this Dominican tradition as it is a story that not many hear recently because of the focus on Santa Claus. I myself had not heard of this story and I am very glad that I read this book and found a bit more about my country of origin. The book is both in English and Spanish, which is a great way to expose my students to a different language. Both the author and the illustrator are from the Dominican Republic and this makes the story even more authentic because it is a story that they both grew up listening to and one that they want to make sure gets carried on. This text further shows the diversity of different Hispanic countries. My favorite line in the book and a good message for the kids to take away from it is that "of the gifts you can give, your time is the best".