The Worker in Sandalwood - Hardcover

Pickthall, Marjorie

4.35

23 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525453326 ISBN 13: 9780525453321

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile, 1994

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A classic Canadian Christmas tale features Hyacinthe, a poor apprentice left to complete an intricate cabinet on Christmas Eve, who is aided in his tiresome task by a mysterious, gentle carpenter who comes to help just in time.

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From Booklist:

Ages 6-10. First published in 1914, this is the story of a poor but talented young carpenter, Hyacinthe, abused by a lazy, demanding master. Left without food or fire to finish a complicated sandalwood cabinet on Christmas Eve, Hyacinthe despairs and weeps. Opening the door to an unexpected knock, he finds a young stranger. In the course of telling stories of his homeland, the wanderer offers to help with the carving. Soothed by the smell of sandalwood, the troubled Hyacinthe falls asleep. He awakens to see the young man lay hands on the unfinished corners of the cabinet and transform them with beautiful carvings before slipping away into the Christmas dawn. The adaptation of Pickthall's original story is overwritten, presented in a distracting, story-within-a-story framework that slows down the tale. Tyrrell's softly colored paintings support the old-fashioned, nostalgic quality of the telling, which, despite the structure, still has some charm. Janice Del Negro

From Publishers Weekly:

Tyrrell's delicate, finely drawn illustrations (reminiscent of Susan Jeffers and Nancy Ekholm Burkert) grace this 1914 short story about a mistreated carpenter's apprentice on Christmas Eve. Admonished by his harsh taskmaster to finish a sandalwood cabinet by morning, Hyacinthe is at the brink of despair when a stranger appears and keeps him company as he works. "I also was raised a carpenter," says the visitor, and offers to help as the lad rests. When Hyacinthe awakens, the stranger is gone, leaving behind a cabinet of exquisite beauty and the unspoken question-who was he? Readers will have to decide for themselves. Pickthall's lush prose reflects the leisurely pace of a bygone era. Ages 5-9.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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