From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-This old-fashioned story is a welcome addition to the (not very long) list of appealing Thanksgiving titles. Eagerly awaiting the arrival of her six uncles, the unnamed narrator urges her mother to describe her brothers and recall their past holidays together. Willey's rhyming text takes the form of a dialogue between mother and daughter. Individual speakers are easily identified because the girl's contributions are printed in italics. Bloom's illustrations, reminiscent of artwork by Diane Goode and Rockwell Kent, suit the gentle tone of the simple plot. Details of costume, architecture, and landscape suggest a seaside setting sometime in the first part of the 20th century. The child's excitement and anticipation, however, can easily be shared by contemporary kids preparing for a family holiday. Keep this one on the shelves year round; it's a charming portrait of country people celebrating their love for one another with song, dance, and good times.
Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Ages 4^-7. The title puts this book in with the holiday books, but its lure is the jaunty text and whimsical artwork that can be appreciated all year long. With her mother, a little girl waits for her uncles to come home from the sea for the Thanksgiving holiday. As they wait, Mother reminisces about Cory, Fred, Davey, Joe, Henry, and Will. The rhyming text tells of Cory, who sings louder than the morning crows, and bookworm Davy, who can't see past his nose. As Mother describes her brothers, they come to life through her words as well as through the stylized pictures that brim with vitality and good cheer. The text, which skips between the young narrator's questions and her mother's answers, is earthy in its descriptions of the brothers and their hearty feast, and melodic as it talks about the music the brothers will make as they play their instruments. Set sometime in the past century, the book has both the charm of yesteryear and plenty of spunk for today's audience.
Ilene Cooper
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