Christmas at Eagle Pond

October 15, 2012
A brief, charming tale of one boy's Christmas. The book takes place in 1940, before Christmas garnered such modern-day angst, and former poet laureate Hall (The Back Chamber, 2011, etc.) imagines a five-day holiday at his grandparents' farm at Eagle Pond, N.H. Lush descriptions of his grandmother preparing home-cooked meals on a woodstove, listening to his grandfather recite poetry while milking cows in the frigid barn and making popcorn balls to hang on the church Christmas tree mingle with scenes of family and friends gathered to celebrate the holiday. Far from home and his ill mother, little Donnie thrives in the love and warmth that radiates from his extended family members as they share tales of their own youths or listen to the radio. Although a flush toilet and bathroom are installed next to the dining room, most use the five-hole outhouse when there's company. Hot-water bottles at the end of the bed are a must to drive away the deep cold. The church Christmas pageant is full of hymns, recitations and the reenactment of the birth of Jesus in the stable. These events connect Donnie to his mother and her memories of the same experiences. Christmas morning brings hand-knitted mittens, a scarf and a prized book of poetry. And yet, even in that simpler time, Donnie longs for even older days, when horses and sleighs ruled the snow-covered roads. The time flies by, and all too soon, Donnie must board the train back to his life in Connecticut. But will a Christmas storm make traveling to the train station impossible? The sweet remembrances of a time gone by when life was a bit slower and Christmas was not so stressful.

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November 1, 2012
Twelve-year-old Donnie spends Christmas 1940 at his grandparents' farm. His mother is recovering from surgery rapidly, so he and her parents don't fret as they observe the holiday. They go to church two nights before Christmas, where preteens and early teens perform seasonal music and poems, and the little kids enact the Christmas story. Relatives come for the eve and the dayGrandma's much-elder brother and Donnie's mother's unmarried sisterand a few friends join them for midday Christmas dinner. Stories are told, especially about the most recently departed, until they notice it's snowing heavily. Will Donnie be able to take the train back to a delayed second Christmas at home? The ordinary, everyday routines of a small dairy farm, in which Donnie helps now Grandpa, now Grandma, surround the familiar holiday plot, and drawings by Caldecott Medalist Mary Azarian decorate sublimely. The little book is completely truthful, though poet and former poet-laureate Hall really never spent Christmas with his grandparents. It was the gift he never received, so he gives it to himself and, as an evergreen delight, to readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)