Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story

Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story

In Appalachia each Christmas, a boy named Frankie waits beside the tracks for the Christmas Train, which will bring presents to the children who live in coal towns and hollows. Year after year, Frankie hopes that one particular gift - one very special gift - will be tossed to him from that train. And it is this enduring hope that will guide him to the true meaning of the season.From School Library JournalGrade 1-4. Full-page watercolor paintings decorate this warm, sentimental story loosely based on actual events. Rylant traces the origins of an Appalachian "Christmas Train" that travels through the mountains each year on December 23 to a rich man who wished to repay a debt of kindness he had received many years before. He faithfully returns and tosses silver packages from the caboose to the coal-town children who wait by the tracks. One such child is Frankie, who longs for a doctor's kit every year; instead he gets much-needed socks or mittens along with small toys. As an adult, he moves back to the town to live and work, having fulfilled his dream of becoming a doctor. With her clear, balanced, and well-paced storyteller's voice, the author builds the anticipation and excitement that the children?and especially Frankie?feel at the train's annual arrival. Although the heroic profile of this child-turned-man makes him more of a symbol than a real person, his story is capably told. The illustrations provide panoramic views of the Appalachian countryside, with deep nighttime blues and wintry colors, strengthening the sense of place. A well-rendered reflection on the importance of giving and sharing.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.ReviewRylant's story is enhanced by the paintings of Chris K. Soentpiet, whose renderings of frosty Appalachian days and a young boy's memories are vibrant. Together, Ryland and Soentpiet have created a story for children and parents too. (Ages 4 to 8) --The New York Times Book Review, Rosemary L. BrayAbout the AuthorAs a child in West Virginia, Cynthia Rylant never dreamed of becoming a writer. In her free time, she devoured Archie comic books and paperback romances and enjoyed the outdoors. But after taking one college English class, she was, ?hooked on great writing? I didn?t know about this part of me until I went to college-didn?t know I loved beautiful stories.? And one night, inspired by the Southern writer James Agee, she sat down and wrote When I Was Young in the Mountains. Named a Caldecott Honor Book and an ALA Notable Book, it was an instant success.Since that night, Rylant hasn?t stopped creating wonderful books. Her stories explore friendship, love, grief, and other mysteries, and often draw on her memories of growing up in Appalachia. ?I get a lot of personal gratification thinking of those people who don?t get any attention in the world and making them really valuable in my fiction-making them absolutely shine with their beauty.?She lives with her many pets in the Pacific Northwest.