A Mexican Christmas story, this book is lacking a few things. First, I had to go searching to find out which culture it was representing. Second, there was no background about the Mexican celebration of Christmas. In a way this was a good thing because it did not make the characters any different from anyone else; they were not a "minority", but simply people. However, I feel that American schoolchildren would have a hard time understanding what was happening in the story.

Familial bonds and magic of Christmas were a focus however. These are things that many people in the world can relate to. Because nothing was explicitly taught, it did not make the culture a novelty. But it did not ignore it either. I wish more "multicultural" books were done this way. The impact is effective, but no hard-hitting.

Why 4 stars?:
Secret Stars is a nice story about family and the magic of Christmas that takes place within the Mexican culture. However, the culture is not the dominant aspect of the book, which I really appreciated. However, I didn't find the book to be incredibly interesting or useful in the classroom. It does have a place and could be helpful with Mexican immigrant children.