A generous act in a time of need is the highlight of this unforced Hanukkah/Christmas tale from Polacco (Babushka's Mother Goose, 1995, etc.). The narrator recalls the bustle of her family's Michigan farmhouse years ago as Hanukkah approached, with women and children clustering in the kitchen and Grampa, in his workshop, busily carving and painting small animals as gifts. Their non-Jewish neighbors celebrate a different December holiday with different customs but the same spirit—until one year when all are bedridden with scarlet fever. It seems only right to make a Christmas tree for each—but what can they use for decorations? Grampa's animals, of course. Polacco's familiar medley of bright striped and floral print clothing surrounding friendly pink faces creates a perfect visual counterpart to her well-told, sentimental story. Make sure readers have their hankies ready. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-689-80862-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1996
A wondrous occurrence, an ancient tradition, and an elderly nun’s abiding faith are the basis of this moving Chirstmas tale from dePaola (26 Fairmount Avenue, p. 629, etc.). Sister Angie is overjoyed when her niece Lupe and her husband are selected to play Mary and Joseph—here, Maria and José—for Las Posadas, the reenactment of the journey into Bethlehem. When Sister Angie becomes ill and Lupe and Roberto become stranded in a heavy snowstorm, it seems as if the celebration will be delayed. However, a couple arrives just in time to take the place of the missing players. The whole village participates in the procession, from the singers who follow Mary and Joseph, to the “devils” who attempt to prevent the weary travelers from finding lodging. After several rebuffs, the couple arrives at the gates of the courtyard; these open and the entire assembly enters to celebrate. When Lupe and Roberto finally show up, the other couple is nowhere to be found. The story takes a supernatural twist when Sister Angie discovers that the figures in the church’s manger scene have come to life, temporarily, for the procession. The mysteries and miracles of the season are kept at bay; this simple narrative spells everything out, resulting in a primer on the tradition. Richly hued, luminescent illustrations radiate from the pages; an introduction and author’s note provide additional information. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-399-23400-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
Johnson (All Around Town, 1998) sketches out the activities for the six days leading up to Sunday. Monday is reserved for the blues, Tuesday for double Dutch workouts, Wednesday for choir practice, Thursday for reading with Miss Augusta (“books filled with magic words. We can taste them and hear them and fashion them—speak words written and said long ago to make today and tomorrow our own”), Friday—“Finally Friday,”—with its fish and hush puppies, and workday Saturday. Then comes Sunday at the Lovely Hill Baptist Church, and displays of fashion, toe-tapping music, gathering, and feasting. The spirituality in these pages is caring and inclusive, so no one is a stranger here; Geter’s pastels are studied and a little self-conscious, but as warm as the biscuits served at Sunday dinner. (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8050-4911-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1999
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