Illustrated by Jim LaMarche
A wish made on a paper star one chilly Christmas Eve long ago leads to magical sequence of events, in this beautifully illustrated picture book.
Recalling back to childhood, an aging carpenter tells of how an act of kindness in 1931 inspired him late life to pay that generosity forward.
That year, the carpenter, then a boy named Henry, and his parents were at their lowest. His father had lost his job, and their house had deteriorated into a drafty shack.
It was the Depression and like many families, jobs were sparse and people had to eke out a living however they could.
So the night before Christmas, Henry and his father cut down trees in the woods, then drove an hour to New York City to try to sell them.
Pulling off a city street, they saw a construction crew and asked if they could share their lot to sell the trees.
The crew could see from their worn faces and clothes that Henry and his father were down on their luck, and welcomed them in.
Soon, the workers were also hurrying over to help unload trees, unaware that the next thing they would unload would change Henry's life forever.
At the end of the day, with a good trickle of sales behind them, Henry's father showed his gratitude in the best way he could. He offered the workers their tallest tree to set out on the lot.
Together, Henry and his father, and the crew, cobbled together things to decorate it with, cranberries, empty tin cans and newspaper star that Henry folded.
Before hanging up the star, Henry closed his eyes and made a wish that his family would one day have a warm house to live in.
0 Comments on 2. The Carpenter's Gift as of 1/1/1900
Every year, just before December sets in, I ask the publishers who are kind enough to send review copies to me for books about Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanza so I can inform readers about some of the best new books that are out there. This year The Carpenter’s Gift came from Random House and touched [...]
If I Had a Hammer: Building Homes and Hope with Habitat for Humanity David Rubel
Short version of this book:
1. Habitat for Humanity is the most awesome organization in the world.
2. Building houses for poor people is super-duper rewarding.
3. Building houses for poor people has lots of steps that change depending on location and size of the Habitat affiliate.
4. Habitat seriously rocks.
5. Religion drives you to do good stuff.
6. Habitat for Humanity is the most awesome organization in the world.
7. Building houses for poor people is super-duper rewarding.
8. Habitat for Humanity is the most awesome organization in the world.
9. Building houses for poor people is super-duper rewarding.
10. Habitat for Humanity is the most awesome organization in the world.
Ok, that was more snark than this book deserves, but...
The book really rubbed me the wrong way. It reads like a book-length promotional brochure for the organization (and I really like Habitat-- I've built houses for them!) and talks about how nice and rewarding it is to build houses for all those poor poor people who need someone to help lift them out of poverty. Occasionally, it felt a bit exploitative. Also, in focusing on Habitat's Christian roots, it really focused on how people's faith makes them volunteer. It was careful to point out that it's not just Christians feel this, but it did make it sound like you had to have religion in order to want to do good and help other people. Because atheists are just sacks of selfish pigs? I don't know.
I also feel that for a book focused on young readers, it doesn't offer any way for them to get involved to help Habitat, as the target audience for this book is too young to volunteer to build. There are ways for kids to get involved-- I know when I was a kid, my church was doing a Habitat build and the kids all made sandwiches and coffee and cookies and stuff to take over to the site to feed the volunteers. I'm sure there are other things that younger readers can do as well.
BUT! I did really like the look at the international, large scale projects. My experience with Habitat has been building a house in an existing neighborhood. A lot of the international projects involve building an entire village. I liked the discussion about how houses are designed and how local culture and customs are taken into account during the design process.
The book design was also clean and I liked the little side pictures of construction implements and what they're used for.
Today's Nonfiction Monday roundup is over at Tales from the Rushmore Kid.
Book Provided by... the publisher for 2009 Cybils consideration
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Monday, February 15, is Presidents' Day. I've put together a list of three books that are very well suited. One about the First Family, another that lists all of the presidents—with biographical details, and one that is simply a lot of fun and includes wacky facts about the United States.
This is definitely the week of thankfulness and I know a lot of families that are incredibly thankful for having a roof over their heads, when they previously could not afford one. Habitat for Humanity is such a wonderful organization and they help make housing possible for many around thw world. Picking up this fabulous book will have you appreciating them even more.
If I Had a Hammer: Building Homes and Hope with Habitat for Humanity is written by David Rubel and has a foreword by the famous Jimmy Carter and features stories of families helped by Habitat, as well as a history of the organization and just how it started.
Truly a great book for getting younger readers to understand the magnitude of just what a few simple hours slinging a hammer can do for a family. The accompanying photographs help to highlight the families, the volunteers, the materials used, etc. Rubel dug deep into the emotions of everyone involved, yet still managed to come up with a factual book filled with great information. I learned so much about where Habitat goes and what they do...adults can use this book too!
This would make an excellent book for your library or school shelves. I would encourage teachers and librarians to use this to highlight the importance of volunteering, not to mention the necessity of being thankful for what we have in our lives. This is an important book that needs to be in reader's hands.
If I Had a Hammer: Building Homes and Hope for Habitat for Humanity
David Rubel
160 pages
Non-Fiction
Candlewick
9780763647018
October 2009
Review copy received from publisher
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Great review, it was a lot of fun to read. :-)
Love snarky commentaries! Hahaha. I enjoyed reading through your review and how refreshingly candid it was. I'm actually surprised you even reviewed the book at all, haha. It must have a few redeeming qualities then. :) Usually if I find the book a bit tiring, I hardly ever (if at all) review it, although on occasion I do write a few snippets here and there. I'm glad though that you shared with us your reservations about the book. :)