Christmas in the Country
Written by Cynthia Rylant
Illustrated by Diane Goode
I chose Christmas in the Country as my first Cynthia Rylant book because of the title and cover illustration. The look of joy on the dogs face as he jumps around in the snow made me smile. I thought of my own puppy at home and her first snow this year. I could hear her barking and see her jumping and ‘attacking’ the snow.
I felt that I must read Christmas in the Country because I grew up in the city and suburbs of California and now I live in a rural part of Virginia. Christmas in the country is a new experience for me as an adult and I wanted to view it from a child’s eyes. I plan on having children one day and hoped to learn some of the great things about Christmas in the country that I will be able to provide them from this book.
The story begins with the young girl describing all that she looks forward to in each season, but her favorite season is winter. Winter has Christmas. Everyone loves Christmas.
I think it is the simple language of the book that gives it a genuine feel, as if a little girl was actually telling this story. No lyrical sounds, no big words, just simple conversation. The little girl describes each tradition that she and her grandparents do to prepare for Christmas. There is the smell of the mothballs as she and her grandmother take out the old ornaments as her grandfather cuts down a tree that is “either too wide or too tall.”
The watercolor illustrations in the book are bright and cheerful. Despite the bare trees, the illustrator still makes the outdoors cheerful and bright. The house is full of color and cheer. The illustrator pays close attention to detail – signed Christmas cards hung on the wall, garland above portraits and on the mantel, ornaments scattered on the floor where the dog is playing. There are animals in every illustration, showing the illustrators understanding of Rylant’s love for all things furry.
The text appears only on the left pages, framed in by a double boarder. Each text page has a simple illustration to unite the page with the illustrations on the right. One text page shows a simple berry branch, another shows a sleeping kitten, and another shows a box of ornaments. I like the format the author and illustrator chose to use. It allows a child to pay attention to the words with a simple illustration to brighten up the page. It also gives a feeling of simplicity that a Christmas in the country should portray.
Although the text never really mentions what the girl thinks of her grandparents, it is evident that the girl shares a close and loving relationship with her grandparents. The illustrator did a fantastic job showing the love of the family by the expressions on the faces of the girl and her grandparents. I smiled just “watching” them interact with each other. It is not clear as to why the girl is living with her grandparents. However, I did not contemplate why the girl is not with her parents, until I started writing this blog. The illustrations portray her to be happy and there is no reason to feel that she is missing out on anything.
Written by Cynthia Rylant
Illustrated by Diane Goode
I chose Christmas in the Country as my first Cynthia Rylant book because of the title and cover illustration. The look of joy on the dogs face as he jumps around in the snow made me smile. I thought of my own puppy at home and her first snow this year. I could hear her barking and see her jumping and ‘attacking’ the snow.
I felt that I must read Christmas in the Country because I grew up in the city and suburbs of California and now I live in a rural part of Virginia. Christmas in the country is a new experience for me as an adult and I wanted to view it from a child’s eyes. I plan on having children one day and hoped to learn some of the great things about Christmas in the country that I will be able to provide them from this book.
The story begins with the young girl describing all that she looks forward to in each season, but her favorite season is winter. Winter has Christmas. Everyone loves Christmas.
I think it is the simple language of the book that gives it a genuine feel, as if a little girl was actually telling this story. No lyrical sounds, no big words, just simple conversation. The little girl describes each tradition that she and her grandparents do to prepare for Christmas. There is the smell of the mothballs as she and her grandmother take out the old ornaments as her grandfather cuts down a tree that is “either too wide or too tall.”
The watercolor illustrations in the book are bright and cheerful. Despite the bare trees, the illustrator still makes the outdoors cheerful and bright. The house is full of color and cheer. The illustrator pays close attention to detail – signed Christmas cards hung on the wall, garland above portraits and on the mantel, ornaments scattered on the floor where the dog is playing. There are animals in every illustration, showing the illustrators understanding of Rylant’s love for all things furry.
The text appears only on the left pages, framed in by a double boarder. Each text page has a simple illustration to unite the page with the illustrations on the right. One text page shows a simple berry branch, another shows a sleeping kitten, and another shows a box of ornaments. I like the format the author and illustrator chose to use. It allows a child to pay attention to the words with a simple illustration to brighten up the page. It also gives a feeling of simplicity that a Christmas in the country should portray.
Although the text never really mentions what the girl thinks of her grandparents, it is evident that the girl shares a close and loving relationship with her grandparents. The illustrator did a fantastic job showing the love of the family by the expressions on the faces of the girl and her grandparents. I smiled just “watching” them interact with each other. It is not clear as to why the girl is living with her grandparents. However, I did not contemplate why the girl is not with her parents, until I started writing this blog. The illustrations portray her to be happy and there is no reason to feel that she is missing out on anything.
2 comments:
I saw this book along with the many other Rylant books in my library and passed on it since it was a holiday book. Although, after reading your post, it makes me want to go and check it out. This really sounds like a sweet story to read to my class around the holidays. I like when you said that the way the book is written and how the pictures are illustrated allow the reader to focus on the words. Sometimes, it's nice to read a book a little more on the simple side than with pictures and text all over the place.
I agree. I think the text being separated from the illustrations is a good format for a child learning to read. I'm not an elementary teacher or parent, so I may be wrong, but it seems only logical to keep the child's attention focused on the words until they are more fluent in reading.
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