Tumbleweed Christmas - Hardcover

Ferguson, Alane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689804652 ISBN 13: 9780689804656

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 1996

Synopsis

Scotty discovers that he may have to spend Christmas in a desert hotel after his mother's car breaks down, but with some innovation and a helping hand from Jasper, the owner of the hotel, he brightens things up and brings the special holiday to life.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

From Ferguson (Poison, 1994, etc.), the story of Scotty and his mother, who are driving across the desert to their Christmas destination when their car breaks down. Jasper, a kindly and unrelentingly folksy motel owner and mechanic rescues them, but Scotty fears they will miss Christmas. Jasper's place has no decorations or holiday fixings. As the boy comes to appreciate Jasper's generosity, he constructs a Christmas ``tree'' from a tumbleweed and decorates it. The well-worn plot device of scraggly ``tree'' becoming beautiful gets a boost of originality by the desert setting, and the boy's disappointment and his later ingenuity seem real. However, the rough illustrations suffer from skewed perspectives that aren't part of the style of painting as much as they are just plain crooked. People fare badly; desert scenes are better. A nice touch at the end comes when another stranded couple appears on the horizon, walking beneath a bright star with their baby, a soft-pedaled reminder of the first Christmas. (Picture book. 4-7) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

Car trouble puts a definite crimp in the Christmas Eve travel plans of Scotty and his mother. When the two are stranded on a desert road and then towed to the rickety Dry Bean Motel, Scotty's dreams of the turkey dinner and brightly decorated tree at his grandparents' start to fade fast. But the generosity of a mechanic named Jasper helps Scotty put his Christmas detour in perspective. Ferguson's delivery, fortunately, is less formulaic than her plotting. Cacti, sagebrush and a red sunset suggest the hot and dusty atmosphere. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0689804652
• ISBN 13: 9780689804656
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Sully Tom