Christmas in Canaan [Hardcover]

Kenny Rogers (Author), Donald Davenport (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

"I reckon there's nuthin' worth learnin' from the coloreds," DJ answered, again turning to the window.

"That right?" his father asked 'Nuthin' worth learning from them folks?"

"Yeah," DJ said. "Nuthin'. Completely nuthin'."

In the quiet, rural town of Canaan, Texas, a clash between two classmates -- one, a tough farm boy, and the other, a bright, black, aspiring writer -- spins into anunlikely friendship. When the clever arrangement their families devise to teach DJ and Rodney a lesson seems hopeless, their cooperative effort to heal a wounded puppy helps them move past an unsettled battle. Not surprisingly, the truce that follows becomes an amiable kinship.

But can life in Canaan lived under the shadow of racism ever really deliver the milk and honey of the Promised Land? It is amidst the magic of a Christmas they'll never forget that the boys learn a lesson about family, hope and love. And they will know for the rest of their lives that when times are hard, there will always be Christmas in Canaan.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Country and western star Rogers and co-writer Davenport deliver a novel of interracial friendship that opens in the 1960s. As punishment for fighting-after Texas farmer's son DJ tells off bookworm Rodney "for actin' so smart for a colored"-the two boys must spend several days in each other's home. A rocky start gives way to friendship, charted here as the novel tracks the boys' growth through turbulent times to manhood. Some of the plot twists are more akin to the neatly made stuff of TV drama. For instance, a meager but memorable Christmas in which the only gifts are catalogue pictures is recreated years later (after Rodney has achieved success as a playwright), this time with real gifts. Even so, the writing is able and the narrative marked by a number of genuinely moving moments. All ages.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-A poor white boy who is academically challenged and shares his neighbors' racial prejudice becomes friendly with a book-loving black boy when they rescue and raise an injured pup together. Set in East Texas in the early 1960s with a flash-forward to the boys' adulthood in 1975, this well-intentioned novel labors under the weight of its message of tolerance. The celebrity author's collaborator is a screenwriter; and, indeed, this treatment might have been more successful as a television holiday special. Here the characters remain flat and one-dimensional; the plot, predictable. The dialogue, particularly that of the black characters, is unconvincing. Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory (Knopf, 1989) is a more satisfying story of a Christmas in a rural past, celebrated by unlikely companions with more affection than money.-V. W.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; 1st edition (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006000746X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060007461
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,495,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good holiday story, February 4, 2005

By 

Melissa Sack (georgia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christmas in Canaan (Paperback)

This is a story set in a small town in Texas. Rodney and DJ are the main characters. Rodney is a young black boy who is being raised by his grandmother. He is very smart and does well in school. DJ has to work hard and study to get by in school. One day Rodney and DJ get in a fight. They are made to spend the night at each others house as punishment. They start to become friends despite how different they are.
The book moved at a fast pace. It kept the attention of the reader well.

I would recommend the book to kids ages 11-14. They will gain a lot of knowledge from the story.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Memoirs of Donald (DJ) Davenport?, August 25, 2006

By 

Barbara Collier (Cardiff By The Sea, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christmas in Canaan (Hardcover)

Whoever declared that this book is "... clearly the childhood memoirs of a grown up, black, Donald Davenport..." did not even look inside the back cover.

Donald Davenport is my first cousin (our fathers - both now deceased)were brothers - and we share the same and equal parts of Scotch-Irish and English roots!

Pleeeeease... just read the book, and don't make this a racial issue, or review. It is a wonderful and heart-warming book. As a writer, myself, I would recommend it to everyone. I have a copy for my grandchildren.

harleybagheera

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful, November 2, 2008

By 

Sue Smith - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christmas in Canaan (Hardcover)

I loved Christmas in Canaan. I especially liked when they got their Christmas tree and how they put it in the house!