The Angel of Mill Street [Hardcover]

Frances Ward Weller (Author), Robert J. Blake (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 1998 | Age Level: 4 and up

It is a cold, snowy Christmas Eve on Mill Street, and little Frances Rosalie yearns to begin the celebration. But not without Uncle Ambrose. Every year it is Uncle Ambrose who makes Christmas sing, with his eloquent fiddle and his songs about angels. But as evening wears on with no sign of him Francis Rosalie fears that he may be in trouble. The snow can be deadly for a man with a crippled leg, and even Ambrose's warm heart and fiery spirit are no match for the driving wind and cold. "Oh God, please take care of Uncle Ambrose!" prays Frances Rosalie. It seems that nothing short of a Christmas miracle will bring Ambrose safely home. But who would have guessed that that miracle would be a great, black dog? Frances Ward Weller and Robert J. Blake, author and illustrator of Riptide, team up again to create a most unforgettable angel in this enchanting Christmas tale.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4?An original tale about an Irish family, set in New England "some hundred years ago." Uncle Ambrose is expected at his sister's house on Christmas Eve. The musician of the family, he is the one who makes "Christmas sing" for his niece, Frances. However, Uncle Ambrose has a bad leg, and when an evening's snow turns into a blizzard, the excited activity around the house turns to worry. He finally arrives, saved by a huge black dog that no one has ever seen before. The "angel" of Mill Street disappears into the night and the family goes to bed. The narrative has the rhythm and pacing of oral storytelling. On each double-page spread, the text is set in a narrow vertical strip next to a large illustration. While the text describes what is going on in the house, the paintings show Ambrose's trek, with the black dog always shadowing him, making the story read as if it were being simultaneously told aloud and acted out. Two wordless, double-page illustrations at the climax (Ambrose's tumble into a snowbank and rescue) add to the meticulous structure of the book. Blake's watercolors, with the blue hues of the outside set against the yellow hues of indoors and the increasingly obscuring and wind-blown snow, add nicely to this cozy and old-fashioned Christmas story.?Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library,
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 5^-8. The book opens with a picture of a girl looking out a window, a worried expression on her face. She is Frances Rosalie Murphy, and the time is 100 years ago. Frances Rosalie is waiting for her uncle Ambrose to arrive on the snowy Christmas Eve. Snow is a problem for lively Uncle Ambrose. An accident left him with a painful limp that makes it hard to walk in such bad weather. As Frances Rosalie recounts her concerns, readers will be immersed in the pictures that detail Uncle Ambrose's difficult excursion through snowy neighborhoods, out past the town, and over the river, each step more difficult until he slips and falls in a snowbank. Unable to get up, Uncle Ambrose is in real danger of freezing to death when a huge black dog appears, and Ambrose is led to safety. The dog is never seen again, nor is the dog familiar to anyone in the area. Was the dog a guardian angel? That's the way the story is passed down. Blake has made an interesting illustration decision: the pictures show only Ambrose's treacherous excursion, not what is happening in Frances Rosalie's house. A man struggling in the snow, even one in danger, may be of more interest to an older audience than to young kids, but no one can quibble with Blake's masterful paintings. Friendly at first, the landscape becomes icier and snowier as the story progresses--until the dramatic snow-drenched spread that shows Ambrose and the dog, tiny dots buried in drifts. Based on a true family story, this is a captivating tale, full of peril, mystery, and love. Ilene Cooper

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Philomel (October 5, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399231331
• ISBN-13: 978-0399231339
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,332,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Tale Told Compellingly, February 11, 2001

By 

Courtney L. Lewis "Sassy Librarian" (Kingston, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Angel of Mill Street (Hardcover)

This is fantastic Christmas tale (although I would read it anytime of the year) about a mysterious and elusive Newfoundland dog who saves a disabled man in a snowstorm and then disappears on his way. I agree with the other reviewer that it is certainly a real "tearjerker" but in a wonderful "power of miracles" way. The most compelling thing about the book is that the text depicts the story of the man's family awaiting his arrival on Christmas Eve, while the pictures show what is actually happening to him on this dangerous, stormy night. The art is fantastic and I find new details during every reading. My thanks to author, Frances Ward Weller, and illustrator, Robert J. Blake, for such a fabulous work.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A touching Christmas story, January 4, 2000

By 

Tammy - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Angel of Mill Street (Hardcover)

My five year-old daughter likes to pick out books that make mommy cry "happy tears"-- and this is one of them. Beautiful illustrations tell the story of Uncle Ambrose struggling home through a harsh storm on Christmas Eve, while the text tells the story of the concerned young neice waiting at home for his return. Uncle Ambrose's miraculous rescue inspires hope and belief in the miracle of Christmas. After drying our tears we read it again and again, watching the illustrations to find that someone watching over Uncle Ambrose.