ALA Booklist (Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 CST 1994)

Five-year-old Pablo can hardly wait to see how Abuelito his grandfather, has decorated Pablo's tree for his birthday. When Mam{ }a first told her father that she was going to adopt a baby and name it after him if it were a boy, Lito went out and bought the tree for his grandson. He moved the tree from place to place and watered it, but he waited to plant it until the day that Mam{ }a finally brought Pablo home. And every year since then, Lito has decorated the tree for Pablo's birthday. For his first, Lito hung colored streamers on the tree. For his second, Lito tied balloons. For his third, it was paper lanterns, and last year, it was birdcages. What will it be this year? As in A Birthday Basket for T{¡}ia (1992), Mora and Lang tell a story that focuses on the special relationship between a child and an older person within a Hispanic family. Boldly cut and bright with detailing accents, Lang's clever cut-paper collages fill each page like a photo album with picture after picture of a family history that sparkles with love and a sense of belonging. A lovely and resonant picture book that, like the tree that Pablo discovers decked with bells and wind chimes, rings with happiness and family love. (Reviewed November 1, 1994)

Horn Book (Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2004)

A boy describes his classroom's preparation for a visit by author Amanda Drake, who fields his question: will she write a book about her visit? In the end, readers learn that they're holding that very book. There's no denying the excitement generated by the story's lively art and original, although self-conscious, premise, but some of the rhymes clunk.

Kirkus Reviews

It's Pablo's birthday, and he's ready for his birthday visit to his grandfather Lito's house, where Lito has decorated a special tree in Pablo's honor. Pablo's tree was planted when his mother adopted him. It was put in a special place—not in the front yard (where it was too noisy), not in the rose garden (where there were too many thorns), but in a quiet spot in the sun. Each year on Pablo's birthday, Lito picks something different with which to decorate it—streamers, colored balloons, paper lanterns, tiny birdcages. This birthday it is festooned with chimes. Pablo and Lito celebrate the day by munching apples and listening to the music the wind makes blowing through Pablo's tree. Pablo looks forward to next year's decoration, which Lito assures him will be yet another surprise. Though this is a charming story about a particularly joyful Mexican-American birthday tradition, the text wanders. Still, Mora's (A Birthday Book for Tia, 1992) depiction of family relations is warm and heartfelt, and Lang's densely colored cutouts capture the mood beautifully. Meandering but moving story. (Fiction/Picture book. 2-6)"