An urban family’s dilemma becomes a community celebration in this delectable holiday treat from Sonia Manzano, also known as “Maria” on Sesame Street . It’s Christmas Eve and Mami has bought a delicious roast for a Christmas feast. But, oh no! It’s too big to fit in the oven. Jose and Papa need to find an oven big enough to cook Mami’s roast. As they walk from door to door through their apartment building, no one seems to be in the Christmas spirit. So they head down the street to find someone willing to help, and only when they do, lo and behold, the scent—the itself magical smell—of dinner begins to spread, and holiday cheer manifests in ways most unexpected. Sonia Manzano from Sesame Street and two-time Caldecott Honor-recipient Marjorie Priceman have cooked up a Christmas tale about how the simplest things—like the tantalizing smell of Christmas dinner and the sharing of it—can become a holiday miracle. K-Gr 4—José and his family's Christmas Eve isn't going well. They are homesick for Puerto Rico, and their tiny apartment means a tiny tree and an oven too small to cook the Christmas roast. When Papi and José decide to take the roast to a local pizzeria to make use of the larger ovens, they find that the spirit of the holidays has passed by many of their neighbors, too, a multicultural cast of community members who have also lost the Christmas spirit. But when the aroma of the perfectly cooked roast José and Papi bring back travels through the apartment building, magical realism makes for a Christmas miracle as the whole building discovers the enjoyment of friends and family. Priceman's illustrations are lovely, with bright, cheerful colors literally swirling with the action of the season. The characters are detailed, diverse, and full of personality. VERDICT Families will enjoy curling up with this warm story about finding home in community.—Brooke Sheets, Los Angeles Public Library Sonia Manzano is best known as “Maria,” one of the first Hispanic characters on Sesame Street , a role she has delighted in for more than twenty years. She has earned fifteen Emmy Awards as a member of the Sesame Street writing staff, and is the author of the picture books No Dogs Allowed! , A Box Full of Kittens , and the Pura Belpré Award honored The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano . Sonia Manzano lives in New York City with her husband. Marjorie Priceman, illustrator of many acclaimed picture books, has won Caldecott Honors for her illustrations in Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin! by Lloyd Moss and Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the Frist Hot-Air Balloon Ride , which she also wrote. She lives in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.