Christmas Farm: A Christmas Holiday Book for Kids

by Mary Lyn Ray, Barry Root (Illustrator)

Overview

“This lovely tale celebrates intergenerational friendship and determination, growth and nature, and the joy of the holiday season.”  —School Library Journal

When Wilma decides her garden needs a new beginning, she gathers string, scissors, shovels, sixty-two dozen balsam seedlings, and Parker, her five-year-old neighbor. Year after year, Wilma and Parker nurture their trees, keeping careful count of how many they plant, how many perish, and how many grow to become fine, full Christmas trees. A cozy, holiday read-aloud and a lyrical way to usher in the month of December.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544105096
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/08/2013
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Mary Lyn Ray has written many acclaimed books for children, including Go to Sleep, Little Farm, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal; New York Times bestseller Stars, illustrated by Marla Frazee, and The Thank You Book, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin. She lives in South Danbury, New Hampshire.

BARRY ROOT is the illustrator of more than thirty books for children, including Tiki and Ronde Barber’s Teammates, Game Day, and By My Brother’s Side. He lives in Drumore, Pennsylvania.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 1-5

Could a middle-aged woman and a five-year-old-boy plant and care for more than 600 trees? Perhaps that is one of the miracles of the holidays. Wilma is tired of growing petunias and sunflowers, but can't decide what to cultivate next. Then she realizes that she has everything she needs to grow Christmas trees, including an enthusiastic helper-her neighbor Parker. She orders 62 dozen small starts of balsam, or five-year-old seedlings, and she and the boy plant them. Finally, after five challenging years, they have trees to sell. That Christmas, they think about the 566 families who have their trees and place an order for 83 dozen new seedlings to plant in the spring. This lovely tale celebrates intergenerational friendship and determination, growth and nature, and the joy of the holiday season. Root's graceful watercolor and gouache illustrations beautifully capture these elements and more, and an author's note gives additional information about Christmas trees and how they grow.-Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal

Wilma is a successful gardener who lives happily by herself on a farm in New England. One year she decides she would like to grow Christmas trees, and with the help of her neighbor boy, Parker, they plant and grow hundreds of trees together. They work side by side for five years, until the trees are large enough to be sold, and then they order more trees to plant the following spring. Ray tells her story in simple, lyrical language that focuses on the trees and their growth. She doesn't have to spell out that Wilma and Parker are great friends and that shared goals and work forge strong bonds. All those aspects of the nuanced plot are apparent in the spare story and in the beautifully understated watercolor illustrations. Root's illustrations often use a warm gold palette for interior scenes in Wilma's sunny kitchen and outdoors on her farm in summer; winter vistas show deep blue skies with speckles of falling snow, deep green trees and glowing lights from distant farmhouses. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews