Happy Birthday, Josefina!

Happy Birthday, Josefina! is the fourth book in the Josefina series.

The Spanish title is ¡Feliz cumpleaños, Josefina!: Un cuento de primavera (Literally: "Happy Birthday, Josefina!: A Spring Story")

Characters

Introduced

Chapter by Chapter Summary

Chapter One: Spring Sprouts

Chapter Two: Tía Magdalena

Chapter Three: Second Chances

Chapter Four: Rattlesnake

Looking Back: Growing Up in 1824

Discusses, birth, childhood, and maturity in New Mexico in the 1820s. Topics include:

The role a partera, or midwife, played during childbirth and early postnatal care
The role of curanderas, or traditional Native Mexican healers, and their knowledge about plants and other traditional medicines
The role of godparents in a person's life and how they were chosen
How children were given their names, baptized, and frequently named after the saint's day they were born on
How children celebrate their saint's day/birthday with gifts for themselves and others, music, sweets, and religious ceremonies
Children's role in every day work running a ranchero, and the expectations of a child in labor and behavior
The games and activities New Mexican children played, including toys, word riddles, sports, and games
A Catholic child's First Holy Communion at age twelve or thirteen, symbolizing their transition into adulthood and maturity.
Proposal and marriages in New Mexico, which could start at age fifteen for young girls, and refusing proposals with squashes
Expectations of marriage and future parenting, and what unmarried women did to assist their families

Variations

The 2024 re-release edition includes a new foreword. This foreword mentions updated imagery and language and a revised Looking Back section. The book also has pages with additional resources and discussion questions.

Book Covers

First cover from 1998-2000.

First cover from 1998-2000.
Spanish cover.

Spanish cover.
Third cover from 2004-2014.

Third cover from 2004-2014.

Items associated with Happy Birthday, Josefina!

Trivia

An excerpt of Chapter Four was published in American Girl Magazine under the title "Josefina and the Snake."

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