When Pa went to the market, no one expected him to come home with a turkey to fatten up for Christmas dinner. The chaos that ensues as this young family tries to raise a turkey in a small apartment is priceless. Many of the details come out through the illustrations instead of the actual words of the story. Will the family survive? Will they save money? Will they be able to butcher the turkey come Christmas? Great story that emphasizes family, love, and togetherness at Christmas time, instead of Santa and materialism. As time for the holidays are approaching, the family in this picture book set in a nineteenth century New York tenement is trying to pinch pennies so they can have a feast. While running errands for his wife, the father comes home with a young turkey that he plans to raise for their Christmas dinner. It can live in a box by the stove and eat table scraps. But the best laid plans of mice and men don't always work out as they plan, and the turkey essentially takes over the house. Some of the father's solutions for the bird are innovative and some are hilarious; for instance, he builds a turkey pen and attaches it to the clothes line so they turkey can be wheeled in and out, and he moves the family into the kitchen so the bird can have the bedroom to itself. When time comes for the bird to be cooked, the children refuse to let him be killed, forcing the family to come up with a better solution. While this title is filled with all sorts of humor, it also provides a glimpse into life during that particular time period, establishing the setting perfectly with spot-on description and watercolor illustrations that show the personalities of the family's long-suffering neighbors.
Do You like book The Money We'll Save (2011)?
Predictable, but oh so enjoyable. Sure to be a Christmas classic in years to come.
—mntstep
43 months - A silly story with ok illustrations.
—KatieFultz_43
heartwarming holiday fare set in the tenements.
—Bookgeek
