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Material Type | Library | Call Number | Suggested Age | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book | Searching... Ceredo-Kenova Public Library | JE | Juvenile | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Readers are reminded of the power of giving in this Christmas tale of an old shoeshine man who encounters a child who has even less than he does.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-The Great Depression provides a suitably bleak background for this tale of generosity and redemption. On three successive days, Larry, a vagabond shoeshine man, gives his cap, his sock-gloves, and a spool-and-yarn angel (a "spoolie") to a poor boy. With nothing left to give, freezing and hungry, he shines the boy's shoes-and discovers he is "the One.-The Heavenly Child." Suddenly, Larry and the glowing youngster are flying over the town, hand-in-hand, "And all they did for the rest of the night-was shine." With a light touch, Quattlebaum leaves the deeper meaning of the story to readers' imagination: some may realize that Larry flies to heaven to become a star because he died; others may take the adventure at face value. The watercolor with acrylic illustrations feature dramatic perspectives, and many details (ornate gas lamps) to reinforce the period setting. Despite the handsome packaging, this metaphor-laden story may be a hard sell to children.-S. P. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In the first of several Depression-era tales, a penniless shoeshine man fashions an angel doll, a "spoolie," out of spools, yarn and cloth. When an urchin shows up, the "Shine Man" first gives the boy his threadbare cap, then his sock-gloves and, finally, the spoolie. In Quattlebaum's (Underground Train) lyrical, mystical tale, the man's generosity is unexpectedly rewarded when the boy reveals his identity ("the Heavenly Child") and spirits the man away. Ladwig (What Does the Sky Say?) effectively evokes the setting through the use of perspective and reflected light in his watercolor and acrylic illustrations. Ages 5-up. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Desperate for customers one cold December during the Depression, a homeless shoeshine man nonetheless takes pity on a tattered young boy, by first giving him his hat, then his gloves, and finally a homemade toy and a free shine. The story takes a religious turn at the end, when the boy is revealed to be a manifestation of the Christ child. The watercolor and acrylic illustrations, which play with perspective, emphasize the sentimental tone of the tale. From HORN BOOK Spring 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ages 5-9. It is 1932, and many people don't have enough money for food, much less Christmas gifts. Larry, on the bottom rung of society's ladder, is a hobo known as the "Shine Man" because he can make the dingiest shoes shine like new. Three days before Christmas, he sets out his shoeshine gear in the harsh, wintry weather with nothing to protect him from the cold but a cap and the old socks he uses as gloves. In his pocket he keeps a wooden angel made out of a spool and a bit of yarn. No one stops for a shoeshine, but a young boy befriends Larry. The boy has nothing to offer; in fact, it is Larry who gives the child his cap, his "gloves," and the angel. On Christmas Eve the boy reveals himself as the Christ child, and he takes Larry soaring through the sky, where, like the stars, they shine. This is a handsome book with evocative paintings that capture the despair of hard times as well as the human impulse toward generosity and hope. The sentimental quality of both story and art may appeal more to adults than children, but listeners who respond to fables will find the story touching. --Ilene Cooper
