Christmas Farm [Hardcover]

Mary Lyn Ray (Author), Barry Root (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2008 | Age Level: 3 and up

When Wilma decides that her garden needs a new beginning, she gathers string, scissors, shovels, sixty-two dozen balsam seedlings, and Parker, her five-year-old neighbor. Year after year, Wilma and Parker nurture their trees, keeping careful count of how many they plant, how many perish, and how many grow to become Christmas trees.

          This companion to the award-winning Pumpkins: A Story for a Field is a lyrical, behind-the-scenes look at the intricate lives of Christmas trees.

          Includes an author’s note about the history and cultivation of Christmas trees.

(20081101)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-5–Could a middle-aged woman and a five-year-old-boy plant and care for more than 600 trees? Perhaps that is one of the miracles of the holidays. Wilma is tired of growing petunias and sunflowers, but can't decide what to cultivate next. Then she realizes that she has everything she needs to grow Christmas trees, including an enthusiastic helper–her neighbor Parker. She orders 62 dozen small starts of balsam, or five-year-old seedlings, and she and the boy plant them. Finally, after five challenging years, they have trees to sell. That Christmas, they think about the 566 families who have their trees and place an order for 83 dozen new seedlings to plant in the spring. This lovely tale celebrates intergenerational friendship and determination, growth and nature, and the joy of the holiday season. Root's graceful watercolor and gouache illustrations beautifully capture these elements and more, and an author's note gives additional information about Christmas trees and how they grow.–Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

As in their previous collaboration, Pumpkins (1992), Ray and Root once again focus on a holiday crop. Wilma, a gray-haired gardener, decides to plant a huge field of Christmas trees. She orders hundreds of small starts of balsam and enlists the help of Parker, the little boy next door: “He was five, like the seedlings.” Parker helps measure straight rows and dig holes for 744 trees, and he continues to help through the following years. Root’s appealing watercolor-and-gouache illustrations invite inspection, from scenes of the field in different seasons to those that show Wilma and Parker’s harmonious teamwork over time. Ray gracefully conveys an acceptance of natural cycles: some trees are lost to “deer that dug in the snow to chew the sweet green tips.” The year that Parker is 10, the team sells their first 566 trees and then, looking to the future, order dozens of new seedlings. All the numbers add up to an added math theme in a story that lovingly depicts the hard work, cooperation, and patience necessary to grow crops. An author’s note offers more about Christmas-tree history and farming. Grades K-2. --Abby Nolan

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152162909
• ISBN-13: 978-0152162900
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 11.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #771,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A nice holiday story, September 30, 2008

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christmas Farm (Hardcover)

Wilma is getting tired of planting sunflowers and petunias in her garden. So, she's looking around for a change. When she goes out to cut down her annual Christmas tree, Wilma knows what she's going to grow in her garden: Christmas trees. So, she places an order for sixty-two dozen balsam seedlings, and gathers string, shovels, and her five-year-old neighbor, Parker.

Year after year, Wilma and Parker nurture their trees, keeping careful count of how many perish to what causes, and how many grow up to be Christmas trees.

Christmas Farm doesn't really go into detail about what it is like to own and operate a Christmas tree farm, but it does cover a few of the things they do to care for trees, how long they have to grow, and what might kill the trees.

With Christmas quickly approaching, Christmas Farm is definitely a book you'll want to pick up for your favorite three- to seven-year-old. My three-year-old and my six-year-old both enjoyed this book, though it held the six-year-old's attention a little better.

The illustrations are beautiful, and the text is interesting. Even grown-ups would enjoy reading this book to learn a little about where their Christmas trees might come from.

Armchair Interviews says: A nice holiday addition to a family's library.

5.0 out of 5 stars Christmas Farm book very cute, January 11, 2012

By 

Mix and Match "toy joy lady" (Milwaukee, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Christmas Farm (Hardcover)

My son checked this book out of his school library but couldn't find the book at our public library. The story is very entertaining and has my children focus on what it takes to put a Christmas tree in our living room each December. My boys 4 and 7 enjoy this story.

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic Christmas story to treasure!, December 24, 2011

By 

Darlene (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christmas Farm (Hardcover)

I read this book aloud to my children.

The story is about a woman named Wilma who loves to garden but wants something more of a challenge than the same old petunias and sunflowers. While chopping down a tree (I love this independent woman!) in the forest on her property, she realizes that not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to grow their own Christmas trees. And so her plan begins to grow a Christmas tree farm.

With the help of the five-year old boy next door named Parker, Wilma measures the rows, digs the holes, and plants the seedlings. Parker continues to help Wilma over the years watching the seedlings grow more each year, and he learns it takes a lot of work to ensure that the seedlings survive! Not all of them do, and some are lost each year to wildlife and the inclement weather. With careful nurturing, the majority of the trees survive. After five years' growth, they are ready to be sold as Christmas trees!

This is a feel-good Christmas story! Parker learns the value of hard work, and Wilma and Parker both are filled with joy knowing that their Christmas trees are bringing smiles to the faces of young and old alike.

Ray includes additional information at the end of the book about the history of Christmas trees, which we found very interesting!

We all loved this book, and it is a great addition to your seasonal reading!

MY RATING: 5 stars!! Loved it!!