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Summary
Summary
Eleven-year-old Emma is disappointed when her mother, a doctor, has to deliver a baby on Christmas Day. But when she arrives with Mama at the house, Emma realizes she isn't the only one whose Christmas has been interrupted.With warm pencil-and-watercolor illustrations, this story offers a glimpse of life on the prairie in the 1800s. And, like Emma, readers will be reminded that easing someone else's pain can often help ease their own.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-This tender story takes place on the Nebraska prairie in 1880. When 10-year-old Emmie's mother, a doctor, is called to the Van Der Meers' home on Christmas Eve to deliver their third child, Emmie is upset-Christmas will be ruined! But when she sees how worried the Van Der Meer children are about their mother and the baby who is coming early, she puts aside her selfishness and calms their fears by helping them to have a real holiday. When the infant finally arrives, Emmie gives him the long scarf her grandmother knitted for her when she was a baby. This memorable tale is beautifully told in clear and simple prose, which is complemented perfectly by the uncluttered, colored-pencil and watercolor drawings. The gray-green hues of the outdoor scenes suggest the bleakness of a prairie winter, while muted yellows, greens, and browns bring warmth to the interiors. Both Van Steenwyck's descriptive text and Himler's well-drawn scenes contrast the poverty of the setting with the richness of the characters' feelings. Christmas tales abound, but this one is a treat for eyes and ears.-Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In this thoughtful, first-person narrative of pioneer life in 1880, Emma is ten years old, living with her mother in Nebraska in a small but comfortable home out on the prairie. Emma's mother is a doctor, and because it's just the two of them in their household, Emma must accompany her mother whenever she goes out on house calls with her horse and buggy. In the middle of the night on Christmas, they are summoned to help with the delivery of a baby on a neighboring farm. At first Emma is resentful that her Christmas will be spent waiting for her mother, but she finds that she is needed to help with the two younger children of the family while all the parents are occupied with the new baby's arrival. Emma helps the brother and sister decorate their Christmas tree with simple items from the house, cooks them breakfast and waits for hours with the children and more neighbors who come to help. Himler's soft-focus illustrations in pencil and watercolor provide quiet but dramatic views of a simpler time, with expressive faces on both people and animals. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Eleven-year-old Emma is disappointed when her mother is called to deliver a baby on Christmas Day. Emma must accompany her, so they travel across the prairie to the Van Der Meer cabin where Mama gets to work and Emma bides her time. As the night wears on, Emma soothes the two young Van Der Meer children, cooks a special Christmas porridge for their breakfast, helps them decorate their tree, and entertains the neighbors who bring food and gifts to the family. At last the new baby arrives, and Emma agrees with her mother that it has been a memorable Christmas. Himler's pencil-and-watercolor illustrations bring the setting (rural Nebraska, 1880) to life and include many details of pioneer existence. Some children will note that one picture (the mother and infant, surrounded by family and livestock, are visited by three neighbors bearing gifts) is reminiscent of Nativity scenes, but a connection is not mentioned in the text. A good choice for reading aloud, especially for Christmas story hours. --Kay Weisman Copyright 2006 Booklist
