Ok, I'm not going to lie: 99% of the reason I chose this book this week was because it was SHORT and it's NANO and in the month of November, Alex and I are just too freakin' busy to do especially long books.
However, it also allows us do find things that are a little different, a little outside the box. Alcott's book isn't entirely that. I mean, it's very much like a excerpt from Little Women (her most popular novel). Big family, mostly girls, old fashioned, country setting that's really big on the family unity.
It's about Thanksgiving, though, which I feel is a widely neglected holiday, especially when it comes to literature. I mean, Thanksgiving really marks the beginning of the holiday season and it's a holiday that is MUCH more about togetherness and family (after all, all you do is eat and spend time with family.) So, I like that she really focuses on that. I like that she really makes it about family time and what the holidays should really be about.
Also, I like the pictures. Ok, so they're nothing to write home about, but they have this very... comforting feel to them.
I liked the book and I think it's a really great book to read your kids when you're getting into the holiday spirit.
The thing about holiday-themed classics is that they're comfortable. There's not a lot of riveting action sequences or great conflict, and the ending is almost always happy. (Yes, I know, The Little Match Girl doesn't exactly have a happy ending, but... it kind of does. Maybe "warm and fuzzy" ending is a better fit than "happy" ending.)
This book is a great holiday book in that sense. A lot of it is banal fluff, but nicely written fluff, and it sets a lovely scene. Kids rallying together to make a Thanksgiving dinner their parents will be proud of when they return? Such a nice story!
This is the kind of book you could read every year - with kids or not - to give yourself holiday-themed feel-goods.
This book is a great holiday book in that sense. A lot of it is banal fluff, but nicely written fluff, and it sets a lovely scene. Kids rallying together to make a Thanksgiving dinner their parents will be proud of when they return? Such a nice story!
This is the kind of book you could read every year - with kids or not - to give yourself holiday-themed feel-goods.
I agree that its nice to have a book about Thanksgiving. Its one of my favorite holidays, probably because my birthday is so close to it, but I feel it is vastly overshadowed by Christmas. Yay for Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteThanksgiving is especially overshadowed now. Places aren't even CLOSING for Thanksgiving anymore. Black Friday is just completely overshadowing the holiday and that makes me sad.
DeleteActually, Nordstrom refuses to decorate for Christmas before thanksgiving (It's either them or Bloomingdales, but I think it's Nordstrom.) They have a sign on their door that says, "We believe in celebrating the holidays separately. For that reason, we do not decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving."
I really appreciate that and makes me like the store more.