On the seventh day of Christmas my true love read to me, this poignant Polacco!
Patricia Polacco’s books are an entire course of children’s literature unto themselves. They are a teacher’s dream- stories about communities coming together, triumph after hardship, and extraordinary acts committed by ordinary people. Her books are well-written, beautifully illustrated, and tug at the heartstrings. These strengths are perfectly suited for the tall task of Christmas book creation.
In The Christmas Tapestry, Jonathan’s father has taken over a ministry in Detriot and the whole family is preparing for their first Christmas when a snowstorm ruins the wall behind the altar. Things start to look up when Jonathan and his father find a tapestry to cover the wall, bringing about a reunion between two Holocaust survivors who had used the hand-stitched cloth as their wedding canopy.
The Christmas Tapestry takes the idea of the Christmas miracle to a whole new level. Much like Elijah’s Angel, the overall message in The Christmas Tapestry, as it is in all of Polacco’s books, is of peace and tolerace. The kicker is in the author’s note, which references a number of real-life sources for the story, which is sure to warm the heart of even the most sceptical Scrooge.
Vikki VanSickle 