Christmas Out Of Season

Christmas Out Of Season

Picture books
Joey cat and I are staunch believers in keeping the joy and
spirit of Christmas all year round. Our studio boasts an artificial
tree with mini lights, three mini trees, and ornaments galore.
Needless to say, when a good Christmas book falls into my hands I
review it.

Liz Rosenberg's On Christmas Eve perfectly captures the
enchantment and magic associated with Santa. A boy, his parents, his
cynical older brother, and his bubble blowing sister are travelling
the night before Christmas. A light snow morphs into a blizzard.
Driving becomes hazardous. The family stops at a motel that has seen
better days.
Our child hero is concerned. There's no chimney. His mom
reassures him that Santa will find them. His brother grumbles that
only babies believe in Santa.
Our hero sets out peanut butter crackers and his last piece of
bubble gum and begins a faithful vigil...
...one that is amply rewarded.

Christmas' patron saint appears in quite a different form in Jan
Brett's delightful The Animals' Santa. It's Little Snow's first
Christmas. He's skeptical when his brother, Big Snowshoe tells him
the animals' Santa will come that night. Even after a number of other
forest creatures describe gifts they've received Little Snow is still
in a Bah, Humbug funk.
Wouldn't someone have seen tracks?
Big Snowshoe desperately wants his little brother to believe.
Luckily he has an idea.

Islandport Press publishes some of the most vivid picture book
gems. Jane Freeberg's The Scallop Christmas is a perfect example.
It's a true story told by a friend that "rattled around" in Freeberg's
mind thirty-five years.
Times are tough in narrator Marcie's long ago fishing community.
"Although we didn't have much money, we were happy. Still,
every summer, I looked longingly at the kids from away riding their
beautiful, shiny bicycles. The summer kids just always seemed to have
everything they wanted. I would close my eyes and imagine myself
perched on the seat, handlebar streamers flapping in the breeze..."
The autumn she's ten, Marcie's father, the teacher at the local
one room schoolhouse, is approached by a friend with an offer he can't
refuse: temporarily shutting the school to help the community.
Scallops that have appeared mysteriously are ready to harvest. This
could be a real boon for cash strapped families. A person could sell
a bushel per day for each person on board his/her boat. So bringing
the kids to work would really help.
At first a week off from school seems like a great adventure.
Only Marcie finds that sitting in a boat with her family gets boring
pretty fast. By Wednesday she finds herself missing school. She's
more than ready to quit.
"After three days of scalloping, I had three shiny quarters--the
most money I'd ever had in my life--with the promise of three more to
come. But I wondered why Poppa needed the money so badly. Why did he
continue to work so hard even though he was hurting so much?"
I bet you've guessed.
Astrid Sheckels' warm watercolors beautifully complement the
text. My visually favorite character is the faithful family dog, a
brindled brown mastiff with a white chest blaze.

The first Christmas Eugene and I celebrated in our own apartment
we had very few ornaments with which to adorn the tree he'd harvested
in his wood lot. I used some of my knitting yarn to transform sea
shells and small stuffed animals into decorations. I saved them
carefully. Every year they go up beside more acquisitions and are
among the ones I most cherish.
On a personal note, yesterday was a RED LETTER DAY in my life. It was
the day I received my FIRST PAYCHECK from my campus food service job.
Other than the stipends I received for being on school committee it
was the first one since before I became a parent. I don't have the
words to describe how proud I felt as I received it and then deposited
it in my savings account toward tuition. It was a symbol that rather
than give up I am making something of my life. Feel free to celebrate
any way you wish (as long as it's legal).
A great big shout out goes out to Anna McDormand who took the chance
of hiring a woman with a work history gap big enough to drive a limo
through. I needed the job to afford the masters program I was accepted
into. But it has become much more than a means to an end. I love the
work and the new clan I'm a part of. I also feel a great deal of
pride in belonging and contributing.
Be grateful to the people in your life who give you breaks when you
really need them. And if you are in a position to give someone a
chance, please do. You never know. It might be the start of
something beautiful. Every day when I go to work and give 100% effort
and look for ways to improve I am silently saying thank you to Anna.
jules hathaway


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