THE CHRISTMAS BOWER

by Polly Redford ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 29, 1967

...everything fell at once, slowly, ponderously, with long ripping noises: cables catching garlands that drew wreaths, dragged branches, toppled Santas, tugged at lights and bells and reindeer, pulling them all downward in one central knot of confusion where the electrician thrashed and struggled and screamed...the bird cages themselves began to fall...the birds, maddened with fear, clawed and scrambled their way out of the heaving wreckage and took to the air."" And that's the beginning of bedlam at Hartman and Company, the biggest department store in the city. The next day there's a bird riot, but old Uncle Willie, the ornithologist, and his bird-watching great-nephew, Noah, get all the birds back in their cages the next night--or so they think. All during the Christmas rush unusual pilfering and littering go on until Noah spots the two birds nesting (!) in the gigantic Christmas tree. They are a rare house-building species, and they've built a bower of tinsel and costume jewelry and a toy Christmas tree. A satire on serious business people and a zany structure of hilarious events against the unlikely backdrop of an establishment that might be Macy's--great anti-commercial Christmas fun.

Pub Date: Sept. 29, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1967

Categories: FICTION