by Catherine Johnson, @CatherinePoet
Matt Forrest is hosting Poetry Friday today. Do take a look. There’s also a Twitter party on later at #MyWANA I think it starts at 6pm Est :0)
The Christmas Promise written by Susan Bartoletti and illustrated by David Christiana.
Scholastic, Fiction
Suitable for: PreK – 3
Themes/Topics: Christmas, Great depression, family life
Opening:
One autumn night
after Poppa’s job and
his money ran out,
we packed our belongings
in bundles and followed
Main Street all the way
to the rail yard.
Synopsis: (scholastic)
At its most sacred, Christmas is a celebration of God’s love, and within than, the love we are fortunate to share among each other. And what greater bond of love exists than that between parent and child? In simple, poetic prose, master storyteller Susan Bartoletti presents a time in the American economy when parents and children were often separated, not from lack of love, but from lack of jobs and lack of income.
Activities: Make a christmas angel who represents the missing family member.
This book is dreamy, sad, thoughtful, but also has light at end of tunnel and hope. Maybe better to read it at Christmas or before rather than in the new year lol.
Susanna Hill has more picture books to peruse on her blog. Have a great weekend!
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I am sure it is a great one!
This is not a book I’m familiar with. So glad your shared. A bit of historical fiction about the depression. My mother and her sister were separated, each going with a different parent. It was a hard time. Will have to check it out. Sounds intriguing.
Oh this one will be very special for your family then, Pat.
This sounds very touching. I loved the opening lines. They really make me want to read it! I’m hoping my library has it!
Hope so!
This looks like a lovely story. I really like the cover. I think that I will look for this one. Thanks!
You’re welcome :0)
thanks for sharing this good find. I love the opening lines. I’ll look for it in the library.
Pleasure! Hi, Clar!
Happy New Year, Catherine! What a lovely book…sad but important! I will definitely try to find it. I love your resource list as well!
I’m sorry I can’t submit an entry to PPBF this week…I’m in Chicago and can’t seem to access my wordpress account to do a blog…so I will try to do my best to visit and comment on the ones on Susanna’s list.:)
Happy New Year, Vivian. Enjoy Chicago!
This book sounds lovely, Catherine! Sad but sweet, and very educational – hopefully a book that will help kids realize how lucky they are if they’re not in this situation. Thanks for sharing!
This sounds like one of those bittersweet books that stays with you.
This looks goooood! Is the artwork done with pastels?
I think so, Julie. They are stunning!
Thanks
I love Christmas books and could read them all year long. I just read CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS tonight!
Oh fun! I’ll have to look out for that one.
Love the story and the cover is beautiful. My kind of book. Glad to see you did a Christmas one too.
Great choice! I really like books that talk about this time period and how people lived through it.