Publisher's Weekly Review
The Armistice has been declared, but still there is no sign of Ruthie's father in their little Appalachian town. So, in accordance with the traditions of Pine Grove, it falls to Ruthie and her mother to bring home the perfect Christmas tree to donate to the town. Ruthie had accompanied her father to the rocky cliff where he marked a tree in the spring, so she and her mother set out to find it again, and haul it home. Their trip becomes the basisovernightof a new town legend; Ruthie, chosen for the role of the heavenly angel in the the church Christmas play, finds herself outfitted in a madeover wedding dress of the finest silkanother ``miracle'' wrought by her hardworking mother. An accomplished, fluid telling garnishes this simple story, as do Cooney's moonlit paintings of wintry evenings and the welcoming glow of fire and lanterns. Ruthie is more or less an observer; her mother is the real heroine. But the way they work together to keep their family's duty is rendered in a harmonious blending of text and pictures. Ages 4-8. (September) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Drawing on her own family's tradition, the author of My Brother Joey Died tells a story that takes place in North Carolina at the end of WW I: in 1918 it's their turn to provide the community Christmas tree, so--on a lovely spring day--Ruthie and her father select a perfect tree on a steep mountaintop. By Christmas, Papa has gone to war, and--inexplicably--has not returned with the other men from the village. So Mama and Ruthie take their horse and fetch the tree, singing carols as they go and returning at dawn. Mama uses her own wedding gown to make Ruthie this costume she needs to be the angel in the Christmas pageant, and an angel doll for the treetop as well. A heartwarming holiday story, simply told and graced with true sentiment rather than sentimentality. Cooney's lucid, serene paintings are reminiscent of her fine work in another story of time past, The Ox-Cart Man (Caldecott Medal, 1980). A welcome addition to holiday collections, or a fine gift book. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Ages 5-8. This warm, heartfelt narrative captures the family feeling of Christmas 1918. Cooney's folk-art style does justice to the affectionate remembrance.
