A strange, original Christmas tale that suggests a sweet family tradition within an anachronistic adventure.
When two young angels crash-land their shooting star in a shepherd’s meadow on the first Christmas Eve, they begin a journey that may sprout some family rituals in this debut picture book.
On a clear night, a shepherd named Mr. David; his wife, Ms. Elizabeth; and their five children admire the beautiful bright star in the heavens. Suddenly, their lives are turned upside-down by Gabe and Gabriella, two angel children who have come, via a flying-carlike shooting star, to invite the family to welcome the baby Jesus into the world. When Betsy, the youngest child, says she’s sad they have no presents to give the baby for his birthday, Gabe supplies an answer, giving each of them a blank silver coin. As the shepherd family travels with Gabriella to Bethlehem, each coin takes on a virtue represented by its giver: sharing, integrity, friendship, joy, forgiveness, kindness, and love. When the clan reaches the stable, it presents Ms. Mary with the gifts for the baby, which she places in special pockets of a stocking she made for her child. The next day, the shepherd and his family discover they, too, have been given stockings to hang on their hearth, and each is given a similar coin, with the instruction to share them with each other over the year in a charming practice some readers might embrace. The angel children bring the holy family to join the shepherd’s clan for a feast and party, complete with pony rides and birthday cake. Some readers familiar with the story of the first Christmas may enjoy LaFargue’s anachronistic twists, from the family naming conventions to the integration of modern customs like stockings and cake. Others, however, may find these juxtapositions jarring and be distracted by the reinforced traditional gender roles (Ms. Elizabeth bakes for her family as the story opens; only the girls offer to babysit Jesus; Gabriella never suggests driving the shooting star herself). While young readers should delight in Harper’s joyful and colorful illustrations, which navigate the odd tale well, they are unlikely to be patient enough for the lengthy text.
A strange, original Christmas tale that suggests a sweet family tradition within an anachronistic adventure.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4575-5027-0
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dog Ear
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
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