Five From Yuletide

Five From Yuletide

Picture books
What do you do if you're a reviewer who at the tail end of
January stumbles on a treasure trove of Christmas books? A more
traditional reviewer might say, with a slight shoulder shrug, "Too
bad, so sad.". I, however, added them to my check out pile speedy
quick (as my girlfriend Junie B. Jones would say) and (because they
all lived up to the promise of their covers) decided to share. You
will be glad I did.
My membership church, which is Orono United Methodist, raises
money each year to help an orphanage in India with their special
Christmas celebration. They have a special dinner and each child
receives the one new outfit he or she will get that year. My daughter
commented that was so sad and asked me why I shared that with her. I
guess from a perspective of great plenty it would seem pitiful. But
for people with much less, that small treasure may be eagerly awaited...
...which is exactly what the young girl narrator of Linda Oatman
High's A Christmas Star, set in the Depression, is doing. Her parents
are hitching the sleigh for the ride to Christmas Eve service. She is
all excited for the mittens ("Christmas-red and snuggly-warm"), candy,
and orange she will receive. When she reaches the church, however,
she receives sad news. Someone has stolen all the gifts. As you may
suspect, all is not lost. A miracle happens exactly on time. This
book is ideal for helping children learn that what may seem like a
trifle can be a treasure for someone who has very little.
I am reminded of an experience from my teen years. I read about
someone stealing a coin jar from a store. The change was to get small
amenities for teens who were in a home for kids with hard lives. I
was angry as all get out. I gave my mom a huge and expensive grocery
list and went into hyperdrive baking and selling cookies. When I
called someone at the home to find where to deliver the money and left
over cookies he invited me to join them all for lunch. It wasn't the
money (which wasn't all that much) or the cookies (I never did channel
Betty Crocker all that well) that mattered the most to those kids.
The fact that someone cared enough to get mad and do something gave
them hope, some of the trust the thief has robbed them of, and a
better sense of their own worth. So you never know...
...anyway, not sorry for that digression. If there is anyone
who knows how to touch the human soul, to stir kids and adults to
laughter and tears, she's Patricia Polacco. Her Gifts of the Heart is
a prime example. Narrator Trisha and her brother, Richie, are heading
toward a bittersweet Christmas. It's their last on the farm their
Grampa will sell come spring. With their Gramma dead it holds too
many memories. They would love to give the adults in their live gifts
but they have no money. They are despondent until they are reminded
of heart gifts, treasures one can't out a price tag on.
When I think on heart gifts I think on how my older daughter and
future son-in-law invite me over for a day as my Christmas gift since
I far prefer presence to presents. I also think on my mentor, Dr.
Betsy Webb, who loves what she calls intangibles. If I send her a
poem or leave a note at her office she is happier than if I'd bought
out the whole Bangor Mall...
...Got sidetracked again, didn't I? Oh, well. Ashley Bryan's
beautifully Who Built the Stable? takes us behind the scene of the
nativity. We tend to think of the major players, angels, shepherds,
wisemen. Bryan speculates on the kind of person who would have
provided shelter to Joseph and great-with-child Mary when everyone
else declared "no room", wanting nothing to do with them. Mary, in or
about to go into labor, looks tired and apprehensive, something any of
us who have shared the experience can relate to. After the birth
she's radiant. And the Holy Infant is not porcelein white, but the
color you'd expect someone born in that part of the world to be. Yowza!
Any of us who have ever entertained stage aspirations will
sympathize with the young protagonist of Marilyn Singer's Tallulah's
Nutcracker. Tallulah gets the only Christmas gift on her list when
she is chosen to be a mouse in a professional production of the
Nutcracker. She practices dilligently, passing up a party invitation,
sure she'll be the best mouse ever. Things don't work out exactly as
she planned, and she learns a lesson many young and not-so-young
performers could stand to think on...
...even yours truly now and then. When I auditioned for Our
Town, my all time favorite play, I ended up being a townsperson with
no lines. My first reaction (in my head) was rats! Phooey! Even as
I was thanking the director for calling. But then I decided to be the
best townsperson possible. I made myself a backstory: a married
woman with seven sons who adores church because it's the only time she
gets away from housework, sees friends, and learns what's going on in
her community. A special piece of choreography was put in for my
character. And I had the time of my life...
My gosh, why is memory lane so tempting today? Anyway, last
but not least we have Holly Hobbie's adaptation of Clement C. Moore's
The Night Before Christmas, one of the most delightful I've ever
seen. In this version the pater familias (father of the family) is
not the only one who springs out of bed upon hearing a clatter. The
youngest child, a tow haired toddler, thumb in mouth and blankie over
shoulder, sets put to see what's going on, accompanied by a faithful
grey tiger cat. That twosome is so perfect. Cat sticks a feline nose
into everything, even standing on hind legs to peer into the toy sack,
which is exactly what such a beastie would do. Toddler peers out in
amazement from the safety of a familiar chair, finally summoning up
the courage to wave bye bye up the chimney. Just too precious for
words.
Hey, Christmas is less than eleven months away. If you do like
I do, start setting stuff aside now, you won't end up all fatigued,
cranky, and flabbergasted (just had to toss that word in there),
fighting the hordes on Black Friday.
I think I've snuck in enough personal notes.
A great big shout out goes out to the authors and illustrators who
write the holiday books that gladden the hearts of children and
parents and the librarians who display them so enticingly.
Julia Emily Hathaway




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