The Story of Holly and Ivy, Rumer Godden
This is a darling little story that almost takes as long to describe as it does to read. Ivy is an orphan who has not been "claimed" by some nice person to spend Christmas, so she is sent by train to the orphanage's Infants Home. Rebelliously, she gets off the train in Aylesbury (for some strange reason changed to "Appleton" in newer versions), looking for a home with a Christmas tree but no children. In a nearby Aylesbury toyshop a doll dressed for Christmas named Holly wishes for a little girl. And close by, childless Mrs. Jones, wife of the town policeman, wishes for a little girl. For this is a story about wishing, simply told but full of detail and feeling.
A little gem.
Sleigh Bells for Windy Foot, Frances Frost
"On Friday, the last day of school before Christmas vacation, Toby gazed dreamily out the windows of the seventh-grade classroom.... The village lawns about the white houses lay withered and rusty yellow; the leaves had long ago been raked to the roadsides and burned; and the only brightness was the dripping scarlet of the barberry bushes around the north side of the square."
I first read this book around 1964 and it was one of the first ones I looked for when I had my own money. Visiting with the Clark family in Vermont in 1948 is like visiting relatives, and I've been envious of their farm Christmas for years (although I really wouldn't want to be Mom cooking that Christmas dinner!). It awes me with the energy everyone has: Toby repairs a sleigh all day, does farm chores, and still has effort left for skiing. And the food! On Christmas day Toby gets up, does chores, opens gifts, eats breakfast, helps his Mom with dinner, eats cookies, has an enormous dinner and dessert, takes Tish into town and they both have hot fudge sundaes (!!!!), and later on eats more at a party. But he's so active he never gains a pound!
This book leaves you wrapped in warmth. As busy and as choked by chores as a farm family is, this family always has time for each other and their friends. They attend homey town functions, sing carols together, make sure no one feels left out, and do Christmas the way it should be done: not all about expensive gifts, but about togetherness and love. Along with that, there's an adventure with a bear and another with skiing, but the best parts are like the passage quoted above: time spent in homey actions and simple holiday preparations, and finishing up warm and happy with friends and family gathered around.
No comments:
Post a Comment