Author: Esther Bender. Illustrator: Joy Dunn Keenan. Publisher: Herald Press. 104 pages with a few black & white pencil drawings. Chapter book. Historical fiction. Paper. ISBN: 0-8361-9090-4. Price: $6.99.

Award

Winner of the Merit Angel Award from Excellence in Media.

Description

"Ginny and Sarah, wake up!" Why does Papa awaken his children in the snowy night before Christmas? They're going to Grandma Katie's house. Virginia is puzzled as they say good-bye to Mama. Spending Christmas at Grandma's would be fun if only she knew what was happening at home.

On Christmas Day, just before supper, Papa bursts in the door with the news: "Mama's okay. There are three of them!" What is Papa talking about? Life has just handed Virginia a test of faith and caring.

This true-to-life story for 8-to-12-year-olds is set in the 1850s, on a mountain plateau of western Maryland. It is a sequel to Katie and the Lemon Tree, winner of a 1995 Silver Angel Award from Religion in Media.

Author's Comments

I like to take a bit of history and turn it into the theme of a book. I have done this by writing my real grandma's triplets into the "three" (triplet) babies in Virginia and the Tiny One. Also, in this book, the sleigh ride in the moonlight to Grandma's house reminds children and adults of a similar sleigh ride in their youth.

Reviews

"The suspense kept me reading straight through the book. The story evokes the warmth of family values cherished in the Little House books and in Sarah Plain and Tall."
— Ann Donati, Teacher of Grades 7-8