Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that Claire's mother dies when she is quite young, and she is left at home, alone and cold, much of the time while her father works. Harsh realities of poverty are evident, especially when a homeless orphan appears with no warm clothes.
Families who read this book could discuss the Christmas stocking, and its uses and origins (see Related Web Sites below for a good place to start). Also, what does Claire's mother mean when she says, "Dream your dreams, and knit them into the wool." Young readers may also be interested in learning how to knit.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
Poignant? Sentimental? Mawkish? Okay, let's be honest -- at any other time of year this kind of thing would be disdained. But one of the many magical things about the holiday season is its ability to transmute predictable, mawkish dross into pure, poignant gold.
By the light of that transformation one can appreciate what might otherwise have been missed -- the delicately lyrical writing, the dry sweetness of the story, the timeless eternal nature of the sentiment. But what would never have been missed are Ibatoulline's gorgeous, glowing paintings, seemingly lit alternately by snowlight and firelight. When the text says that "surely these were the best stockings she had ever made," the illustration makes you believe it.
This is another book to add to our 12 Days of Christmas List of holiday weepers for curling up with a child in front of a fire on a cold December night. Lovely.
From The Book
The winter months were the hardest. Claire's only consolation was to crawl into the rocking chair, close her eyes, and pick up her needles. Then she could feel her mother's warm hands over hers, and she could hear her mother's voice in her ear.
"Dream your drams, my child, and knit them into the wool."
Plot Summary:
Claire is a poor child, the only daughter of a miner and a knitter. Before her mother dies, she teaches Claire to knit as well. Claire soon becomes locally famous for knitting beautiful stockings, and people come from all over to buy them.
Just before Christmas one year, an imperious, rich lady orders six stockings, and Claire knits the best ones she has ever made. But on her way to deliver them she meets a poor, homeless orphan, and gives him two for his bare feet, two for his hands, and one for his head. The last one she hangs on the mantelpiece, her hopes for a warm, happy Christmas gone with the money she failed to earn. But miracles do happen.
Related Books:
Other Books by Elizabeth Winthrop
The Battle for the Castle
The Castle in the Attic
Dumpy La Rue
Squashed in the Middle
Shoes
Other Books Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
Crossing by Philip Booth
The Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen
The Animal Hedge by Paul Fleischman
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Related Web Site
History of the Christmas Stocking
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ViolenceA homeless orphan has no warm clothes in winter. |
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Social BehaviorClaire, though she has so little, sacrifices her own well-being for another. |
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