Phyllis McGinleyRessenyes

The poem was cute, but I truly fell in love with the illustrations by John Manders. Charming!

Very entertaining, cute and fun to read, I enjoyed it very much. Five stars.

Santa announces he's taking a vacation. Children are sad until Ignatius Thistlewhite unites the world's children to allow Santa to take a much-deserved rest. The children begin sending things to Santa, but then he doesn't have room for all the stuff they sent plus the stuff he should have been delivering. What will Santa do? This is a rhyming poem that is illustrated by Kurt Werth.

A lovely holiday evening by the fireplace after the smaller ones have been put down for the night. Enjoying Eggnog or Hot Toddies as the family elders read, and I'm.

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Dulcy is a 6-year -old- girl who has a large doll collection but is never satisfied with what she does have. She does not appreciate the newest doll she gets until it is gone. As time goes by and Dulcy gets a little older, she imagines the doll to have been greater than it ever was and does not recognize it when she finds it. By reading this story, children can learn to appreciate what they have and to find joy in life. They can also learn to distinguish between what is real and what is imaginary. I am giving this book 5 stars because I appreciate the message so beautifully taught and how the author still manages to tell it in such a way that young children can easily grasp its meaning. I also find the artwork to be brilliant and makes it seem as if the dolls are coming alive.

By famous author/poet Phyllis McGinley, this quaint children's tale told alternating in poem and story.
Mrs. Claus is known for influencing the Mr. and giving him his good ideas, but this year she has thought of a radical idea. It makes Santa so angry he goes to sleep for a nap Christmas Eve, telling no one to wake him-- he will do it himself. The hour has come for Santa to begin his delivery ride, but cannot be roused. So, Mrs. Claus decides to make the trip herself, implementing her new idea. She dresses up like Santa and delivers "skis for the bookworms, books to read on rainy Sundays for the Baseball Breed; For girls who had nothing but dolls on hand, nice red dump-trucks for dumping sand; Nice soft Pandas, huggable and fat for little boys waiting for a cowboy hat; useless presents, extravagant and funny for children with never a cent of money; practical presents for those more rich; for studious fellows, balls to pitch; ribbons for tomboys, jacks for their brothers....." and the change from the expected gifts delights the children that Santa is even more endeared to them. We loved the book

Everyone needs a little vacation now and then, including Santa Claus. After delivering presents year after year, Santa is cranky and tired. He suddenly takes time off from giving.

As the other children cry, a little boy leads an effort to give presents to Santa Claus to lift his spirits. Soon gifts arrive from around the world to give Santa a Merry Christmas from the children. Overwhelmed by the outpouring of love, it's a sentiment Santa will never forget. And to this day Santa Claus continues to visit children on Christmas Eve.

The Bottom Line: "The Year Without a Santa Claus" was originally published in 1956. The classic text has been refreshed with colorful and lively illustrations in gouache by artist John Manders. Now a new generation of kids can enjoy this classic tale. Recommended seasonal reading for kids ages 6 – 9.

This review also appears at the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog.½

1950 Caldecott Honor Book and part of the series of Blue Ribbon Books.

A story about a little girl that gets a doll from an older woman who is leaving town for a short time and wants her to have this doll to take care. The girl has many dolls but this one is very special, until she gets side tracked and leaves it in a pile of leaves. She begins to invent stories of her adventures with the doll, but will not share that she has lost the doll till one day after a long winter the doll appears right where she left it. The doll is a little worse for the wear.

Here are a couple of interesting quotes from the book that I found interesting from this dated story.

"We learn to be more satisfied with Things As They Are" As grownups, Dreams are like fire that can warm hearts.

Cute!

"When blithe to argument I come,
Though armed with facts, and merry,
May Providence protect me from
The fool as adversary,
Whose mind to him a kingdom is
Where reason lacks dominion,
Who calls conviction prejudice
And prejudice opinion." [139]

Auden wrote the Foreword, comparing McGinley's rhymes to Hood, Praed, Calverly, Belloc, and Chesterton. He compares her feminine imagination with that of the males:

"In theological terms, one might say that all men, left to themselves, become gnostics. They may swagger like peacocks, but in their heart of hearts they all think sex an indignity and wish they could beget themselves on themselves. Hence the aggressive hostility toward women so manifest in most club-car stories." [xi] Wow. He quotes her verses on the cares of men and women.

Light verse.

"Deciding on reflection calm,
Mankind is better off with trifles:
With Band-Aid rather than the bomb,
With safety match than safety rifles.
Let the earth fall or the earth spin!
A brave new world might well begin
With no invention
Worth the mention
Save paper towels and aspirin."

A variety of light verse including a section of amusing comic (but friendly) lives of saints in verse. My favorite poem in this collection (and favorite of her poems altogether) is A Choice o Weapons, refining the old "sticks and stones" rhyme to add "Words can sting like anything/Silence breaks the heart."

light verse chiefly commenting on ordinary American middle-class women's lives of the time.

Discussion of the merits of being a housewife in response to the feminist movement of the 1960s.

I loved this book as a child. I had always loved dolls and this book reinforced my love of dolls. I remember I got this book for free from my second grade teacher. I wish I still had it.

Dulcy is a sweet little girl, with a loving family and plenty of friends.She has one immature flaw, though - she is never satisfied with things the way they are. Dulcy collects dolls, and she has a great assortment, including a ballerina, a set of twins, and a bridal doll. She has favorites, and loves playing with her dolls, but she can't help wishing that each doll was a little better. If only that one had blond hair, or that one a slip that matched her veil. One day, her friend Mrs. Primrose gives her another doll as a gift. Dulcy likes Angela, even if she wishes her hair was a different color. She puts Angela and her box of clothes down when she sees her gardener raking leaves on the lawn, and gets so caught up in the fun of leaf burning that she forgets all about Angela.

When Dulcy remembers, later that night, Angela and her box of clothes are nowhere to be found. Her mother and the gardener help her search everywhere, but the doll has disappeared. Dulcy is distraught. Her mother consoles her with the promise of a new doll, but Dulcy claims that no doll could be as wonderful as Angela. Her eyes opened and closed, she had her own wardrobe, and she could speak. Dulcy really thinks she remembers all these features, although a careful reader will know Angela wasn't quite so talented.

Dulcy can't help lamenting her lost doll to everyone. As she describes the wonders of Angela, the list continues to grow and grow. Anytime someone says their doll has something Angela didn't, Dulcy suddenly remembered that Angela had something like it, only better. Her constant complaints mixed with bragging drive others away, and poisons Dulcy against her other dolls, which she locks up in the cupboard. One day, Dulcy is playing with a new girl outside, one who isn't fed up with her Angela stories. Together, they discover two old boxes, containing a doll and wardrobe, very soiled and neglected. Dulcy recognizes Angela, and also realizes that Angela is quite different from her stories. Dulcy runs home in tears. Her mother comforts Dulcy in her disappointment; Dulcy explains to her mom that she really did think Angela was as wonderful as she imagined, and her mom teaches Dulcy that we can hold special dreams that are perfect, as long as we also are happy with the reality that we have.

The story is a quick read, with a charming story and good moral. Dulcy comes away from her experience with more appreciation and satisfaction in life, and is able to repair broken friendships. She also begins to play with all her dolls again. The message is simple and innocent, but I found that refreshing. The book was published in the fifties, when children's fiction was restricted to a more didactic style, but this story manages to be entertaining within those limitations. The illustrations are charming if old-fashioned, and excellently complement the narrative. In fact, this is a Caldecott Honor book. The theme of the book is still valid today, and the story will be a short but fun read for kids.

Phyllis McGinley, a deservedly popular writer of light verse in the 20th century, here turns her talents to various Christmas legends. Well worth seeking out for Christmas reading. Excellent illustrations too.

What a great marriage: McGinley's 1957 poem with quirky retro illustrations that complement it perfectly. A guaranteed hit with just about any age group.

I picked this up at a yard sale because I remembered my mother reading it to me. After reading it, though, I'm not sure she did. It's a strange little story, almost written in free verse. There are Randomly Capitalized Phrases throughout. The illustrations are quite odd, and the story has sort of a mean streak in it, though it does end well.

I'm not sure how I feel about this one, other than I don't ever want to read it again.

I decided to read this book because it was sitting on my library shelf, and I wanted to see whether it would still be relevant or attractive to today's little girls. I'd actually never heard of it before, even though it's been around for ages! And I loved some of [a:Phyllis McGinley|62056|Phyllis McGinley|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1363243791p2/62056.jpg]'s other books when I was little, especially [b:A Wreath of Christmas Legends|6508672|A Wreath of Christmas Legends|Phyllis McGinley|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309734512s/6508672.jpg|2296757].

My verdict? Though not a great book, this is charming, and will appeal to girls who enjoy old fashioned stories and fairy tales. I'd actually rate it somewhere between a 3 and a 4, but I'm following my usual review practice of rating high, rather than low.

A note: Personally, I loved the book design and illustrations -- but the cover, in particular, would look very old and unattractive to many modern children. I can think of several kids who would enjoy the story, though, if they could get past that.

Dulcy is a child who is never satisfied, she is always wanting bigger and better and different from what she already has. Dulcy loves each of her dolls dearly, but each of them is not quite right, and she wishes she could change them. One day, Dulcy is given a doll named Angela, but soon after she gets her she looses her! Dulcy is so sad she has misplaced Angela, because she was the best doll in the world. Dulcy begins to idealize Angela, and imagine things that were never true about Angela. None of Dulcy's other dolls can match up to her memory of Angela! Dulcy refuses to play with dolls anymore, until spring when she finds Angela! Recovered from a pile of dirt, Angela is not at all like Dulcy remembered. Dulcy realizes that she had imagined many things about Angela, and that imagining is different from what is real. Dulcy learns to separate her dreams from reality. The illustrations are beautiful, and tell the story in a vivid way. This book would be great to read to a child who has a wild imagination.

The king and queen have spoiled their child, a plain and mean-spirited pricess. A mother with a huge family promises that she can cure the princess of her plainness if they will let her take the princess away from the palace. The mother treats the princess like one of her own children, and through hard work and learning to care about others, the princess becomes beautiful, inside and out.

I remember reading this book as a kid and LOVING it. I felt at the time that it had the final word on what beauty really is. A real classic, feel-good book. This is one of those that should be back in print. New York Review Children's Collection take note, and librarians, don't let this be one of those books you throw away just because it's older.

The main character, Dulcy, is spoiled when it comes to her dolls. She always wants a better doll than what she has. One day she gets a new doll, Angela, but loses it. Every time someone asks her to describe her doll, she gets more and more extravagant. It seems like the doll that she lost was the most perfect and wonderful doll any little girl could imagine. But when she finally finds Angela she sees that’s exactly what she did. She imagined all of those magnificent details. The doll she lost was quite ordinary. She realizes this, and knows that to grow up properly she needs to stop making up stories and fibbing. I suppose this is a strange coming of age story. With the setting of this story taking place in the fifties, it may be a little difficult for modern children to relate.

Details: This book was written to interest children in grades 3-5 and is a 4.6 reading level.

A thoroughly enjoyable, if dated, tome about domestic life.

A very important figure in Catholic literary circles during the 50's-60's.