Sweet as honey on the vine. I may be completely wrong in saying this, but I do believe this is the first Caldecott Award winning book to incorporate both English and Spanish phrases in its text. Taking a sweet story and extending it into a tale of patience and perseverance, author Leo Politi wrote a wonderful intergenerational tale.

The story follows Juan, a young boy living in the California town of Capistrano, and Julian, an elderly man who works at the nearby mission. Juan and Julian get along peachy keen. In a "Secret Garden" like turn of events, Juan notices the sparrows in the garden. Julian teaches the boy their ways and how they leave every fall, only to return on Saint Joseph's Day. How do the birds know to come back that day? Says Julian, "That I do not know". Juan watches with sadness as the birds leave exactly as Julian said they would, but prepares a small garden at his own house in the hopes of attracting a sparrow family of his own. When, on a late Saint Joseph's Day, the birds do come back, Juan is delighted to find two of them perched in front of his home as happy as can be.

My initial glance at this book was one of disappointment. At first I found the pictures toneless and flat. On a second look, however, I realized how nicely they compliment the story. Sometimes the illustrations are painted in mild greys and pinks around the borders of the pages. Other times, they are grand colorful two-page spreads displaying everything from a bird's eye view of Juan running into the Mission's enormous gardens to an aerial shot of the countryside as the sparrows wind their way south for the winter. The illustrations of the sparrows themselves are especially nice. It is clear that Politi took care to render them realistically and with affection. I was especially taken with the shots of the two sleeping sparrows cuddled close to one another under a mild pink moon.

Most picture books of this age retain something mildly offensive about them. It's not their fault, necessarily. They just convey messages we deem irresponsible today. In this case, the book is mostly politically incorrect-free. A single exception could be Julian's loving description of the missionaries of California. According to him they used, "to take care of sick Indians" as well as bringing them "many of the things they needed in their daily life". Frankly, I think the Indians were doing just fine without the supposedly nice missionaries, but this is Julian's story. I'm sure he believes what he is saying, and I'm quite certain that author Politi does as well. This section is brief, and has little to do with the rest of the book. If you find yourself overwhelmingly offended by it, it's the easiest thing in the world to simply skip these pages when reading to the tiny tots.

In general, this is a strong story. Sweet in its storytelling, impressive in its execution, and enjoyable in its use of Spanish, I think it's a tale that resonates as magnificently today as it ever did. Take the time to discover it, if you can. Tis a pure expression of the idyllic years of childhood.

Juan in interested in the return of the swallows and wants to make them a home for the next year. The town can not wait for the return of the swallows the next year.

I love the pictures, so colorful and brillant

This is an old picture book that won the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 1950. It is a cute tale of a young Mexican-American boy who lives by the Mission San Juan Capistrano. Juan visits the mission coming home from school to visit his friend Julian, the old gentleman who works there.

The colorful drawings evoke San Juan years and years ago and are very touching, especially if you live in that area or have visited. The story of the swallows coming to Capistrano on St. Joseph's Day also shows the qualities of patience and hope little Juan has. He plants a garden to attract the swallows to his adobe home as well. A beautiful and timeless tale.

This summer the swallows returned to San Juan Capistrano, but many didn't nest at the mission. Due to restoration work at the mission, many of the swallows decided to nest at a single family home nearby. A family of swallows even decided to nest in the high entranceway to my neighbor's house here in Whittier [about an hour north of SJC]. It reminded me that it was time to get out my copy of Leo Politi's beautiful book Song Of The Swallows and read it again. This excellently illustrated book tells the story of the yearly nesting of the swallows through the story of the relationship between Julian, a bell ringer at the mission, and Juan, a young school boy who lives nearby. Politi's exquisite art tells the story as much or more than his words. This was one of my favorite story books from my childhood and I'm lucky to still have the copy given to me as a young boy. The story still enchants me in my middle ages. Like many older copies of Politi's books, my copy was personalized to me by Politi [he didn't just sign the books, he did a personal watercolor on the front endpaper]. Please make this story a part of your child's personal library.

YES. This is a memorable book. It is a lovely story of a little boy whose faith is inspired by the wondrous flight of the swallows to Capistrano. Last year, we visited the real Capistrano briefly, I was instantly reminded of this book my mother once read to us. And now I just HAD to share the story with my sons. The illustrations have a lyricism and simplicity that capture the beauty of the migrating sparrows. That impression of beauty has stayed with me over the decades.