... is a day not to feel sorry for yourself! Lately, I've been thinking about how much I miss having young children on my lap and reading to them. I still see the children, they're just not young anymore, but I also miss the books. Picture books have a charm of their own, with delightful stories, gorgeous and oftentimes eye-catching illustrations, and they engender good feelings. I rarely buy picture books anymore unless they are gifts for grand-nephews or nieces. But recently, Margaret Renkl (NYT columnist and author of Late Migrations) had been posting on IG about some of her favorite books this year. She said she also misses storytime and buys at least one new picture book each Christmas even though she doesn't have any children or grandchildren in the house.
I haven't purchased any new picture books, but since I have saved most of my children's books, I can easily revisit them. So that's what I'll be doing occasionally during December when I can't come up with a blog post idea. Today, let's take a look at The Mole Family's Christmas by Russell Hoban with illustrations by Lillian Hoban. My kids both came home from elementary school enamored with this story, so I bought two used copies when I found them so they could each have one. It's out of print like many children's books, but affordable copies are available if you look around.
It's the story of Harley Mole, his wife Emma, and their son Delver. Delver is curious about the world around him, a curiosity that found its focus when he learned of the far-distant stars and had the desire to see them. But how could a mole, who lived underground and who was terribly nearsighted, ever see these shimmering celestial bodies? By using a telescope, of course! And how was he to obtain that telescope? By asking the fat man in a red suit, who visited the people aboveground once a year with gifts. And so began a process whereby the entire Mole family worked hard to make Delver's dream come true, laboring to build a chimney for this odd gift-giver while evading the claws of Ephraim the Owl.
I'm probably not giving anything away by saying that the story ends happily. My kids loved the idea of animals writing a letter to Santa, moles asking for a telescope to see the stars, and maybe even the danger of evading Ephraim the Owl. I liked the idea that Mother and Father Mole recognized their son's curiosity and were willing to help him pursue his dream. All around, a great Christmas story!
