Coming Through the Blizzard: A Christmas Story

From Publishers Weekly When a snowstorm blows into town, the narrator wonders who will come to the Christmas Eve service. The answer? Everyone! Donning scarves and skis, the congregationAfurred and feathered, two-legged and four-leggedAgathers at the little blue church. And when a shivering stranger in a tattered coat arrives (and is welcomed), it's truly Christmas. In a stylish debut, Tylden-Wright combines an up-to-the-minute use of perspectives and textures with the retro appeal of an old-fashioned Christmas card, blanketing the scenes from Spinelli's (When Mama Comes Home Tonight) rhythmic verse text in drifts of frosty white as light spills warmly from glowing candles and windowpanes. Ages 3-6. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library Journal Kindergarten-Grade 2-On Christmas Eve, as snow blankets his community, a minister waits and wonders who will make it to the evening service. The lyrical text describes the arrivals: "The starling came/on snowy wings across a starless sky./The starling came,/frosty and fuddled,/to huddle on a cushion in candle glow,/beneath a branch of the shining tree./The starling came." The bird is followed by the custodian, Tom Cat, a small boy in his mother's arms, a field mouse, the organist, a moth, and the soloist. The small blue church begins to fill up; however, it is not until the last guest, a stranger, arrives that Christmas comes. The colored-pencil illustrations highlighted in gouache supply warmth to the narrative and the brightness of the last spread brings a glow to the story. Soft and sweet, this title invites readers and listeners to ponder the true arrival of Christmas.-T.T. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.