GREAT JOY
written by Kate DiCamillo
illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
Candlewick Press
ISBN: 9780763629205
Ages 4-8
32 pages

Frances is excited. It’s the week before Christmas, and the shops in her neighborhood are festively decorated and brightly lit. Then, one dark winter night she looks out her bedroom window and sees a monkey and an organ grinder on the street corner below. The monkey is dressed in a green vest and red hat. He holds a tin cup and dances to the sweet, sad music played by the organ grinder with the lonely eyes and pushbroom mustache. The man wears a winter cap and heavy overcoat to protect him from the snow and bitter cold.

As Christmas draws near, Frances prepares for her part as an angel in the church’s Christmas pageant. During the performance she will wear a halo, a white robe and wings. She has a speaking part but is not afraid; she has memorized her one line. Yet, in the warmth of her upstairs apartment, as her mother puts the finishing touches on her costume, Frances can’t concentrate on the pageant.

When Frances asks her mother where the man and the monkey sleep, her mother says, “I’m sure they go somewhere. Everyone goes somewhere.”

Frances is not so sure.

One snowy night Frances stays awake past midnight and peeks outside. When she sees them on the sidewalk, huddled against the cold, she grows even more troubled.

The evening of the Christmas pageant Frances and her mother ease down the snow-crusted steps. Frances drops a coin in the monkey’s tin cup and invites the organ grinder to watch the play at church.

Later on, in the middle of the stage, Frances stands very still. All eyes are on her. She opens her mouth, but the words won’t come out. The world is quiet and everyone waits, including Frances.

GREAT JOY harkens back to a simpler time --- to a world of childhood innocence, wonder, trust and compassion --- a time when Christmas was an occasion for reverence, warmth and joy. Kate DiCamillo has written a lovely story for readers of all ages to share and to cherish. This slim and graceful book, with its simple yet timeless message, lives up to its title --- it does bring tidings of GREAT JOY.

    --- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt (dvolkenannt@charter.net)

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