While yesterday's read was one for snow dreamers, today's hits the theme of giving and especially in connection with the spirit of Christmas. This book hit the shelves last year and won a few prizes since then. So, my expectations are pretty high. I'm hoping there's a lovely, Christmas feel to this one and am pretty sure I'm not going to be disappointed.
Settle down with that cup of cocoa, and let's take a look.
THE WONDERFUL ONCE
A Christmas Story
by J.R. Buchta
Illustrations by Erin O'Leary Brown
Warbucks, Inc
Picture Book
40 pages
ages 4 to 8
The Wonderful Once: A Christmas Story is an illustrated children’s book by JR Buchta about the power of giving.
A special home for children without parents is in a lovely, friendly village. Well looked after, the children are happily waiting for their forever homes. At the annual Christmas Festival, all the children choose a present from a waiting stack. Lucas, the youngest, picked a small gift he would treasure with all his heart. When a young girl is brought to the home, Lucas does an act of kindness that sets him off on a magical adventure. The Spirit of Giving visits him, and together, they start a new tradition that will last a lifetime.
Brought to life by beautiful illustrations, this enchanting tale captures the spirit of Christmas and the magic of a single good deed that changed the world forever. It has all the makings of an annual read for families at Christmastime and a fresh look at some age-old traditions.
MY TIDBITS
This is one of those Christmas reads to snuggle up with and dive deep into the joy of giving with a touch of holiday magic.
Lucas is an orphan and more timid than most. When the residents of the town, where the orphanage is found, gather the yearly, Winter Festival gifts for the children, Lucas is chosen to be the first to select his gift from the large pile. Since he doesn't want to be greedy, he chooses the smallest present. The gift is more wonderful than he could have hoped, but as a new orphan suddenly is brought to the door, he realizes that there isn't a gift for her and gives her his. This launches off an entire adventure of magic and warmth.
Beginning with the gift-giving at an orphanage, this is a tale which immediately draws a touch of sympathy. Yet, it keeps a pleasant atmosphere as the villagers are caring and help out the orphanage as best they can. So, there's a kind feel the entire way through. This slides well with Lucas's generosity, which readers will understand and maybe feel a bit inspired by. The rest of the tale takes a magical turn, which opens up the imagination and heads into a story about the origin of Santa himself.
The text creates a nice read-aloud and works for a Christmas story time. Readers, who are sure of their words, can also pick it up on their own. The font is smaller, however, and the text is longer on some pages. It flows well and holds a nice pacing throughout the read. The illustrations carry a more traditional flair and fit well to the story magic. These hold many details and invite for gazing ono their own.
It's the kind of book, which can be added to the Christmas shelf to be picked up year after year and enjoyed each time.
And here they are...
John Buchta was born and raised in Philadelphia PA. As a youngster, he expressed
an interest in music and spent most of his early life in the performing arts as a singer-songwriter.
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, he entered the business world
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, he entered the business world
and made a career in marketing for various entrepreneurial ventures.
His interest in writing took a turn towards children's books when his grandchildren
His interest in writing took a turn towards children's books when his grandchildren
were born and he recognized the power of their imaginations and their enjoyment
of reading. Memories of his childhood and the spirit of his father’s character and
penchant for a good story or poem inspire his writing. Today, he resides in Bucks
County PA with his wife.
Erin O’Leary Brown is an illustrator based in upstate NY, specializing in children’s illustration as well as botanical and nature themes. She works traditionally in ink and watercolor, and often utilizes digital media to make adjustments and minor changes or additions to the final illustrations. Her style combines delicate line and rich layers of
color with careful details and a sense of whimsy with the goal of sharing engaging
stories as well as beautiful images.
Over the years, Erin has worked in freelance illustration creating art for various books
and children’s magazines, as well as decorative designs, for clients such as Scholastic,
Herald Press, Perfection Learning Corp., and Cricket Media. Her most recent project
is a Christmas-themed tarot deck, The Yuletide Tarot, written by Kristoffer Hughes,
to be published by Llewellyn Worldwide in 2023.
She received a BFA in Illustration from Syracuse University, and an MS in Education
from Elmira College. In addition to working in the field of illustration, she has also
spent some time teaching art. When she was in graduate school, she discovered another wonderful creative outlet in ceramic sculpture. Still, her strongest passion is drawing
and painting, and she finds some of her most enjoyable and rewarding time is spent
within the pages of her sketchbook, where she finds a sense of balance and fuel for
creative ideas. More of her work can be seen on her website at eobrownart.com.
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