The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: An Appalachian Story

by Gloria Houston, Barbara Cooney (Illustrator)

Overview

This unforgettable tale, illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Barbara Cooney, has become a seasonal classic-a touching and joyful story about courage and the power of family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780140558777
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	10/01/1996
Series:	Picture Puffin Books
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	694,492
Product dimensions:	9.25(w) x 10.38(h) x 0.09(d)
Lexile:	AD600L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Gloria Houston is an internationally known educator and author of  several award-winning, best-selling books for young readers.

Barbara Cooney illustrated over 100 books for children.

Editorial Reviews

Since Ruthie's family has the honor of providing the community Christmas tree, this Christmas promises to be memorable! But fulfilling this responsibility becomes a struggle when papa goes to war. Delicately detailed acrylic illustrations complement this heartwarming story about the love and determination of one Appalachian family.

Mailbox Bookbag

The Armistice has been declared, but still there is no sign of Ruthie's father in their little Appalachian town. So, in accordance with the traditions of Pine Grove, it falls to Ruthie and her mother to bring home the perfect Christmas tree to donate to the town. Ruthie had accompanied her father to the rocky cliff where he marked a tree in the spring, so she and her mother set out to find it again, and haul it home. Their trip becomes the basisovernightof a new town legend; Ruthie, chosen for the role of the heavenly angel in the the church Christmas play, finds herself outfitted in a madeover wedding dress of the finest silkanother ``miracle'' wrought by her hardworking mother. An accomplished, fluid telling garnishes this simple story, as do Cooney's moonlit paintings of wintry evenings and the welcoming glow of fire and lanterns. Ruthie is more or less an observer; her mother is the real heroine. But the way they work together to keep their family's duty is rendered in a harmonious blending of text and pictures. Ages 4-8. (September)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly