The Last Slice

In this sweetly comic portrait of a Three Kings Day celebration, a child finally old enough to have her own slice of La Rosca de Reyes is worried about swallowing the Baby Jesus figurine inside. Seron Richardson describes the tradition: “The Three Kings had searched mountains and deserts to find the baby Jesus. So every year on Three Kings Day, families all over the world looked for him, too... in their rosca.” Young Marta isn’t sure the treat is “the best place to hide a baby” and tries her best to dodge the dessert, but as other slices disappear and the figurine isn’t revealed, Marta decides “she would have to be valiente”—and is. Aptly depicting the child’s laugh-out-loud internality, Arnaldo employs over-the-top scenarios and dynamic facial expressions throughout this sweetly comic introduction to the January holiday. The Latinx-cued family is shown with various skin tones. Creators’ notes and further info about Three Kings Day conclude. Ages 4–8. (Dec.)