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Illustrated by Jim LaMarche
Random House, 2011
$17.99, ages 4-8, 44 pages
$17.99, ages 4-8, 44 pages
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.
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.
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.
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