Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo

Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo
Buy Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Summary: A story about giving and sharing at Christmas accompanied by some sumptuous illustrations make this a stunning book. Highly recommended.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 40	Date: 5 Nov 2007
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd
ISBN: 978-1406310832
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In the week before Christmas an organ grinder and a monkey appeared on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Vine Street in New York. The organ grinder played music for the passers-by. From her apartment window Frances watched the monkey offering a tin cup to people in the hope that they would give a few cents. If the traffic was quiet she could hear the sad, far-away music. Frances wondered where they went at night - ... somewhere her mother said. Everyone goes somewhere.

But that night Frances made herself stay awake and at midnight she crept into the living room. Looking out of the window she saw the organ grinder huddled against the wall with the monkey inside his coat. The man looked up and raised his cap to her. The next day Frances suggested that they could come for dinner, but her mother refused. They're strangers, that's why.

It's the day of Frances' Christmas play and as she and her mother walk to the church they pass the organ grinder and the little girl invites the man and his monkey to come to the play. She has just one line to speak but is unable to say anything as her thoughts are with the man and his monkey out in the cold and the snow. The silence continues until the door at the back of the church opens and in walks the organ grinder with his monkey. Frances smiles.

Behold! she shouts. I bring you tidings of Great Joy!

I often despair of Christmas books for children. They're usually either cheesily sentimental or about what the individual can get out of the festival in the way of presents. If you are not religious it is difficult to find a book which has a worthwhile message that you would want to give to a young child. Great Joy never mentions presents, or parties or over-indulgence. The message is a simple one: there are those who are homeless, who are less fortunate than ourselves, and we should not forget them, but it's told in a way that any child can appreciate. It's a simple tale, beautifully told.

What makes this book extra special is the artwork of Bagram Ibatoulline. It took my breath away. The story is set in New York in the middle of the last century and it's captured perfectly with the snowy damp conditions outside, or inside, there's the picture of the father who would appear to be away on military service. It's Frances who steals the show though. I found myself gazing at a picture of her, just for the pleasure of looking at her hair. I think I could have counted every strand - such is the detail in these illustrations. They are superb and turn a good story into something luminous.

I've read the book through several times now and it touches me every time with its glorious pictures and simple message that Christmas is a time for giving and for sharing. I'd like to thank the Publishers for sending this book to the Bookbag.

This will be the sort of book that a child will treasure. Its message is not specifically about Christmas and I think it will be returned to again and again, finally moving off the best-loved shelf by the age of about nine or ten. For another book that will stand the test of time and has an equally sumptuous presentation the Bookbag can recommend The Thousand Nights and One Night.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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