Elena's Serenade

The other day I took my kids into the dentist. As my kindergartener was discussing the visit afterward, I realized that he'd confused the hygienist with the dentist so I reminded him that the hygienist (a woman) was the one who had cleaned his teeth and the dentist (a man) was the one who had showed us his x-rays. After thinking for a minute he queries, "So boys are dentists and girls are hygienists?" This surprised me, given that we've already had several discussions about this sort of thing, but it seems we can always use a reminder. Elena's Serenade by Campbell Geeslin is a fantastical tale about a young Mexican girl who dreams of becoming a glass blower like her papa, but is told that girls cannot make glass. When Elena sets off on a journey to meet the master glass blowers in Monterrey, she discovers she is able to make glass like no one else, using music to bring the glass to life. The story is rich with Mexican culture and tradition and the vibrant illustrations by Mexican folk artist, Ana Juan, give this story life.

My sons were enthralled by this magical tale and afterward we discussed that while this is obviously not a true story, it still talks about true things. I asked them if they thought Elena would have ever discovered her magic abilities if she had listened to the people who told her that girls cannot be glass blowers. We talked about whether it's true that girls cannot accomplish the same things as boys and how it affects girls when the people don't believe in them. Then we touched upon the other parts of the story that are true. My boys learned that Mexico is a real country and that Monterrey is a place that really was famous at one time for their glass blowers who made bottles. To top it off we watched this video clip illustrating how modern glass blowers blow and shape glass. This book both challenges sexism and celebrates Mexican culture, yet it is entertaining first and foremost. The plot is fun and imaginative on it's own with the added bonus of imparting a valuable lesson.