310. Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree

 Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree. Robert E. Barry. 1963. Random House. 32 pages. [Source: Library]

Mr. Willowby's Christmas tree came by special delivery. Full and fresh and glistening green--the biggest tree he had ever seen. He dashed downstairs to open the door--This was the moment he'd waited for.

I loved, loved, loved Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree. It celebrates giving in a fun and playful way. Mr. Willowby starts off a long chain of giving when he chops off the top of his too-tall Christmas tree. A tree that is splendid in every other way. He gives the tree-top to the upstairs maid. She's delighted. Very delighted. How thoughtful! How cheery! But the tree is too-tall for her small room. The top must go! Chances are you can predict at this point how the story will go. But that doesn't mean it is in any way less delightful. This little tree-top gets passed down and re-trimmed again and again and again and again and again. And it's just WONDERFUL to see how much happiness and cheer it brings to others.

I loved the premise. I loved the writing. The rhyming was delightful. It worked very well for me! I think this one would make a great read-aloud. I also loved how uplifting it is. (After reading Baboushka and the Three Kings, I needed a cheery story!)

Why didn't someone tell me about this wonderful and charming picture book?! Why?! Well, I am glad to have discovered it now!

Which Christmas books would you consider classic? Which would you recommend?

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Young Readers

180. Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree

Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree. Robert E. Barry. 1963. Random House. 32 pages. [Source: Library]

Mr. Willowby's Christmas tree came by special delivery. Full and fresh and glistening green--the biggest tree he had ever seen. He dashed downstairs to open the door--This was the moment he'd waited for.

I loved, loved, loved Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree. It celebrates giving in a fun and playful way. Mr. Willowby starts off a long chain of giving when he chops off the top of his too-tall Christmas tree. A tree that is splendid in every other way. He gives the tree-top to the upstairs maid. She's delighted. Very delighted. How thoughtful! How cheery! But the tree is too-tall for her small room. The top must go! Chances are you can predict at this point how the story will go. But that doesn't mean it is in any way less delightful. This little tree-top gets passed down and re-trimmed again and again and again and again and again. And it's just WONDERFUL to see how much happiness and cheer it brings to others.

I loved the premise. I loved the writing. The rhyming was delightful. It worked very well for me! I think this one would make a great read-aloud. I also loved how uplifting it is. (After reading Baboushka and the Three Kings, I needed a cheery story!)

Why didn't someone tell me about this wonderful and charming picture book?! Why?! Well, I am glad to have discovered it now!

Which Christmas books would you consider classic? Which would you recommend?

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Young Readers

40. The Bully of Barkham Street

The Bully of Barkham Street. Mary Stolz. 1963. 208 pages. [Source: Library] [j realistic fiction; realistic fiction; friendship; school; bullying]

First sentence: Martin Hastings wriggled at his desk.

Premise/plot: Readers perhaps first met Martin Hastings in Stolz’s The Dog on Barkham Street. The Bully of Barkham Street is a companion novel told from a different character’s point of view.

Martin is an unhappy boy who is constantly being picked on by teachers, his sister, his parents. Everyone has a problem with him. Everyone thinks he’s the problem. And that’s a problem. He’s caught in a pattern, a cycle. He doesn’t like it, but doesn’t know how to end it.

Edward Frost, the boy next door, teases him, calls him names, insults him every single time they see each other. There’s no getting away from it. Why can’t Eddie just stop.

Martin hates everything about his life. He decides quite wisely that he can only change himself. He cannot make other people see him differently, treat him differently....but he can change his own behavior and attitude and hope that someone will eventually see that he’s changed.

My thoughts: I loved this one. I just loved it. It made me love Martin. I liked seeing him redeemed. I liked seeing his view of some of the same events. I wanted to yell at his parents a few times, more than a few times. But the truth is, all the characters are human. It would not be much of a stretch to believe that there are reasons they behave the way they do. They may be just as unhappy in their cycle of yelling, fussing, being stressed and frustrated. Perhaps they want to run away from themselves too.

© 2020 Becky Laney of Young Readers