Christmas Day in the Morning [Hardcover]

Pearl S. Buck (Author), Mark Buehner (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Rob wants to get his father something special for Christmas this year -- something that shows how much he really loves him. But it's Christmas Eve, and he doesn't have much money to spend. What could he possibly get? Suddenly, Rob thinks of the best gift of all...

Author of nearly a hundred books for children and adults, and winner of both the Pulitzer and Nobel prizes, Pearl S. Buck has captured the spirit of Christmas in this elegant, heartwarming story about a boy's gift of love. Originally published in 1955, this classic story is now being issued, for the first time ever, as a picture book with glorious full-color art by acclaimed artist Mark Buehner.

A welcome addition to everyone's holiday collection, this timeless treasure will bring the true meaning of Christmas to the entire family for generations to come.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Published in 1955 and appearing for the first time as a picture book, this modest holiday tale from the author of The Good Earth might well have been called The Good Son. On Christmas Eve, a man recalls the holiday many years ago when he gave his father, a struggling farmer, a most-appreciated gift: the boy rose extra early to do his father's biggest chore, the milking. Buck's understated yet moving piece, paired with a sentimental note from the illustrator, will resonate with readers. Buehner's (Snowmen at Night) inky, starlit winter skies and rustic barn revealed by lantern light transport readers to a hushed and humble setting. All ages.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5-Originally published in 1955, this story has been illustrated and brought to life for a new generation. A man remembers a great discovery he made when he was 15 and living on his father's farm. A few days before Christmas he overhears his dad saying how much he hates having to wake his son at dawn for morning chores. As a special gift for his father, the boy gets up at a quarter to three on Christmas morning and does the milking by himself. Buehner illustrates these scenes, many taking place at night and illuminated by lanterns or by moonlight, with a sturdy, folksy, old-fashioned solidity. The hard life on a farm, the struggle to keep the family and animals warm and fed, is reflected on the parents' faces. Moving and tender, this is a fine choice for reading aloud or family sharing.-S. P.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1 edition (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688162673
• ISBN-13: 978-0688162672
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,111 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #50 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Where We Live > Farm Life
  • #81 in Books > Children's Books > Holidays & Celebrations > Christmas

More About the Author

Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker was born on June 26, 1892, in Hillsboro, West Virginia. Her parents were Southern Presbyterian missionaries, most often stationed in China, and from childhood, Pearl spoke both English and Chinese. She returned to China shortly after graduation from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1914, and the following year, she met a young agricultural economist named John Lossing Buck. They married in 1917, and immediately moved to Nanhsuchou in rural Anhwei province. In this impoverished community, Pearl Buck gathered the material that she would later use in The Good Earth and other stories of China.
Pearl began to publish stories and essays in the 1920s, in magazines such as The Nation, The Chinese Recorder, Asia, and The Atlantic Monthly. Her first novel, East Wind, West Wind, was published by the John Day Company in 1930. John Day's publisher, Richard Walsh, would eventually become Pearl's second husband, in 1935, after both received divorces.

In 1931, John Day published Pearl's second novel, The Good Earth. This became the bestselling book of both 1931 and 1932, won the Pulitzer Prize and the Howells Medal in 1935, and would be adapted as a major MGM film in 1937. Other novels and books of nonfiction quickly followed. In 1938, less than a decade after her first book had appeared, Pearl won the Nobel Prize in literature, the first American woman to do so. By the time of her death in 1973, Pearl had published more than seventy books: novels, collections of stories, biography and autobiography, poetry, drama, children's literature, and translations from the Chinese. She is buried at Green Hills Farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The gift of love is the best gift of all., December 11, 2002

By 

M. Brown "happy reader" (Camillus, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christmas Day in the Morning (Library Binding)

This book truly exemplifies the true meaning of christmas, to love one another. When Rob, the 15 year old boy of a modest farm family, overhears his parents talking, he comes to realize the love his father has for him and the love he also holds for his father. Not having the money to purchase a gift that he feels expresses this love, he chooses to surprise his father by doing the morning milking and chores before the usual 4AM. He sneaks out to the barn and his heart bursts with love as he waits for his father to discover the surprise. The illustrations are beautiful, dark and dusky like the time of day before surnrise, and the clouds in the sky take the shape of the Holy Family on the first Christmas. A valuable lesson for all. The gift of love is the most precious gift of all.

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classis Christmas story, December 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Christmas Day in the Morning (Hardcover)

I collect Christmas stories and purchase only one or two each year. My criteria are excellent storyline as well as beautiful illustrations. This book hits the mark on both counts. The storyline is both "real" and touching. It emphesizes the important things about Christmas including being together as a family and serving others. Truely, the best gifts, as this story illustrates, do not come from the store.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brought Tears To My Eyes, November 14, 2006

By 

Deborah Conner (Plano, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christmas Day in the Morning (Hardcover)

This story is beautifully written and illustrated. It will be a Christmas story that we will read year after year in our family. It is a poignant tale of a boy and his father and the realization by the boy that he is truly loved and wants to return that love. As an adult, it makes me look back on my childhood and love my parents even more by seeing the small things they did for me. It brought tears to my eyes.

We own many of Mark Buehner's books and that is why I purchased this Pearl S. Buck book. I was so pleasantly surprised by how wonderful the story was as well as the illustrations. Be sure to look for the figures hidden in the illustrations. Mark Buehner is famous for doing this in his illustrations. Mary, Joseph, the Christ Child, angels, and animals are hidden in the clouds over the barn on the cover. You will find characters throughout the book in the clouds, in the grain of the woodwork, and in the fabric of quilts and furniture. My children love looking for these hidden objects.