Title:
The Scallop Christmas Author: Jane Freeberg
Illustrator: Astrid Sheckels
Recommended for Ages: 6 to 10
Story: The Scallop Christmas is a nostalgic tale of a very special gift - not the special Christmas present itself but the love it symbolizes. Set in a Maine coastal village during the Depression, the story provides a glimpse into the past with its description of scallop harvesting, as well as a good lesson about what really matters. Astrid Sheckle's watercolors create a strong sense of time and place.
The story is narrated by a grandmother looking back on "precious memories." Marcie was 10 years old. Times were tough and when word got out that there were scallops in the bay ready for harvesting, people were excited. Marcie's father taught at the one-room-school, and he agreed to close the school for a week. This was important because "each fisherman could sell just one bushel of scallops each day for each person in his boat, so it made good Yankee sense to take everyone possible, from Grandma to the babies."
Marcie and her sister and brother accompanied Momma and Poppa on the boat each day during "Scallop Week." After the novelty wore off, it wasn't much fun for any of them. Marcie's dad wasn't used to the work and had a tricky shoulder that could be very painful and the kids quickly became bored. However, at the end of the day, when Poppa sold the scallops, he gave each of them a shiny quarter. He called it "patience money" because they'd been patient all day.
Marcie wasn't happy about going out in the boat each day, but she was pleased with her quarters. Yet, each day her father was increasingly tired and sore, and she wondered what Poppa needed money for so badly that he keep working while in pain. On the last day, Poppa slipped and dislocated his shoulder.
Unable to steer the boat back to the dock, Poppa told Marcie she had to do it. Although Marcie had steered the boat with her father's help before, this time she was on her own. After carefully steering the boat in, Marcie and her sister handled the sale of the scallops while Momma took Poppa to the doctor. Marcie was thrilled when she got home and her father told her how proud of her he was.
Several months passed and the family began Christmas preparations. On Christmas morning, Marcie finally found out what her Poppa had wanted the scalloping money for - new bicycles for his children! The scallop shells her mother had painted gold and silver as Christmas decorations became treasured keepsakes, ones that reminded her of a very special gift - the gift of a father's love for his children.
Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Islandport Press
ISBN: 9781934031254
Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
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