What are you
hoping for this holiday season? Take a look at these upbeat family stories that
turn their characters from discouragement to optimism as each story
accelerates. Choose one to read for several weeks or several nights, engaging
youngsters and increasing their anticipation of the approaching season. Let the
celebrations begin!!
Alphabet of Dreams
by Susan Fletcher
Mitra/Ramin
and her younger brother Babak, from a noble Persian family, have become beggars
due to their father’s unsuccessful plot against the tyrant-king Phraates. She
has disguised herself as a boy, while her older brother, Suren, has left, at
her urging, to learn what remains of their family, and dig up gold from the
home they have fled, to help them recover their status. Meanwhile, Babak
discovers if he sleeps with something belonging to another, he can dream that
person’s dreams.
Author Fletcher has set this young
adult novel, like a previous novel, Shadow
Spinner, in ancient Persia (now Iran). It is the time of the Magi and the
cusp of a new era.
Babak and Ramin/Mitra join the
caravan of a powerful Magus who, understanding the movements of the stars, and
wanting what Babak’s special abilities can offer him, is traveling to
Bethlehem. In the course of their journey, three animals, a skinny, feeble
donkey, a one-eyed kitten, and a mange-infested camel become their companions:
they are kidnapped, escape, and are rescued, and ultimately do some rescuing
themselves.
Long fascinated by the story of the
Magi’s journey to Bethlehem, Fletcher also demonstrates her fascination with
Persian/Iranian history, weaving celestial events, ethical practice, and
traveling details seamlessly into her absorbing holiday tale of another age.
Atheneum, $7.99
Interest Level: Grades 6+
Letter on the Wind: A Chanukah Tale
by Sarah Marwil Lamstein
illustrated
by Neil Waldman.
Based on a Tunisian Jewish folktale,
this beautifully illustrated picture book uses watercolors and Micron archival
inking pens to give crisp clarity and intriguing detail to this unconventional
retelling. The year that “rain was a stranger,” the “olives shrank” on the
trees, providing no oil to light the menorahs. “No olives, no oil, no
Chanukah,” sighed the villagers.
Hayim, the poorest man in the
village, asks the scribe to write a letter to the Almighty. Amid laughter and
pity from those in the marketplace, the scribe does so, scoffing. From the
highest hill outside the village, Hayim launches his letter into a steady
breeze.
The answer to Hayim’s letter arrives
as a gift from the Almighty with enough oil for the entire village, which Hayim
joyfully shares. The scribe however, wonders if Hayim is a thief, and soon the
entire village refuses to use the “stolen” oil.
Watercolor paintings in blues and
grays partnered with earth tones and edged in crisp black ink emphasize the
lyrical text, bringing to life a reminder of the original Chanukah. The
merchant who responds to Hayim’s letter, also receives a letter questioning
Hayim’s integrity. His arrival and presence in the village shames those who
accused Hayim. An author’s note on the final page highlights the miracle told
in the First Book of Maccabees from the Old Testament.
Boyds Mills Press, $16.95
Interest Level: Grades 2-4
The Family Under the Bridge
by Natalie Savage Carlson
illustrated
by Garth Williams
Armand, an old hobo living on the
streets of Paris, likes his unattached life, despite his need to beg and sleep
under a bridge. His odd jobs barely keep him fed, but when he returns to the
bridge where he usually sleeps in winter, arriving just before Christmas, he
finds three red-haired children and a dog behind a canvas in his usual place.
Their
mother is working at a laundry and their landlady has put them out because
there is not enough money to pay the rent since their father died. After an
excursion together, that included singing for coins, and a visit to Father
Christmas in the store, the Calcet children’s mother is angry that they are
begging. Although Armand leaves, he returns to rescue the children from some
women who would separate the family. That night when Armand reunites the
children and their mother, she is upset that he has brought them to a gypsy
camp. The children are delighted, however, playing together with the gypsy
children, and sleeping in a “house on wheels.”
But
the gypsies must leave suddenly, and the Calcets still do not have a home.
Garth Williams occasional drawings glow even in charcoal shades, enriching this
charming story with his characteristic warmhearted illustrations.
However, an
unexpected solution brings this lovely warm adventure to a perfectly nuanced conclusion
in a surprising celebration for the holidays.
HarperCollins, $6.99
Interest Level: Grades 2-5
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