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Library | Call Number | Status |
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Searching... Dayton Public Library | JFIC THOMAS | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... McMinnville Public Library | Christmas 394.26 Thomas | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Silver Falls Library | FIC THOMAS | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Silver Falls Library | JF THOMAS | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Woodburn Public Library | 828 Thomas 1985 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Dylan Thomas's holiday classic, lavishly illustrated by multiple Caldecott Medalist Trina Schart Hyman, is now available in a gift edition for a new generation of readers.
This nostalgic recollection of Christmas past by celebrated Welsh poet Dylan Thomas evokes the beauty of the season at every turn: the warmth of a family gathering; the loveliness of a mistletoe-decked home; the predictability of cats by the fire; the mischief of children left to their own devices; and the sheer delight of gifts―be they Useful or Useless.
Readers will cherish this beautiful new edition of the classic A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES complete with gold-foil, a glossy front picture, and sparkling snowflakes. Once inside, readers are rewarded with stunning midnight-blue endpapers sprinkled with a flurry of more snowflakes, making this book the must-have gift item of the season.
Brilliantly illustrated by Caldecott medalist Trina Schart Hyman, this beautiful edition of Thomas's beloved classic will enchant readers of all ages, year after year.
Author Notes
The most important Welsh poet of the twentieth century, Thomas was born in Swansea, about which he remembered unkindly "the smug darkness of a provincial town." He attended Swansea Grammar School but received his real education in the extensive library of his father, a disappointed schoolteacher with higher ambitions. Refusing university study in favor of immediately becoming a professional writer, Thomas worked first in Swansea and then in London at a variety of literary jobs, which included journalism and, eventually, filmscripts and radio plays. In 1936 he began the satisfying but stormy marriage to the bohemian writer and dancer Caitlin MacNamara that would endure for the rest of his career. His life fell into a pattern of oscillation between work and dissipation in London and recovery and relaxation in a rural retreat, usually in Wales. Thomas worked in a documentary film unit during the war. Besides his poetry, he wrote plays and fiction. In the early 1950s, he gave three celebrated poetry-reading tours of the United States, during which his outrageous behavior vied with his superb reading ability for public attention. Aggravated by chronic alcoholism, his health collapsed during the last tour, and he died in a New York City hospital. In his poetry, Thomas embraced an exuberant romanticism in the encounter between self and world and a joyous riot in the lushness of language. His work falls into three periods---an early "womb-tomb" phase during which he produced a notebook, which he later mined for further poems, a middle one troubled by marriage and war, and a final acceptance of the human condition. The exuberant rhetoric of his work belies an equally strong devotion to artistry, what he once called "my craft or sullen art." His great "Fern Hill," for example, builds its imagery of the rejoicing innocence of childhood on a strict and demanding syllabic count. A recollection of boyhood holidays on the farm of his aunt and uncle, that poem places its emotion within an Edenic framework typical of Thomas's work. The impressive sonnet sequence "Altarwise by Owl-Light" (1936) combines the internal quest of romanticism with a more elaborate religious outlook in tracing the birth and spiritual autobiography of a poet. Almost at the end of his career he produced the moving elegy "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" (1952), written during the final illness of his father. Despite his periods of doubt and dissipation, Thomas celebrated the fullness of life. As he wrote in a note to his Collected Poems (1952), "These poems, with all their crudities, doubts, and confusion, are written for the love of Man and in praise of God, and I'd be a damn fool if they weren't." (Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (6)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3 Up-Raschka's illustrations will surely enhance children's enjoyment of this nostalgic, bittersweet memoir. Executed in ink, torn paper, and gouache on sensuously textured paper, they are full of tiny details that beg for closer inspection. Some libraries may still have copies illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg (New Directions, 1997), Edward Ardizzone (Godine, 1980), or Trina Schart Hyman (Holiday, 1985). Of these earlier editions, Hyman's probably succeeds best at capturing the story's time and place. Raschka, however, finds the universal elements that a contemporary child can relate to-the eccentric aunts, the joy of pretending to smoke candy cigarettes, the classification of gifts into "Useful Presents" and "Useless Presents." This is a handsome book that most libraries will want.-V. W. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Poet Thomas's beloved remembrance of his childhood holidays marks its 50th anniversary with a slate of jazzy new mixed-media paintings. Shaking things up for traditionalists, Raschka delivers an interpretation via stylized images about as far from typical cold, snowy Wales as one can get. Using a consistently sturdy black line the artist emphasizes warm family scenes with golden hues and some rich, spicy color. He renders outdoor settings-yes, the seaside and snow are still here-in appropriately cool, icy blue tones. Evocative of Thomas's era in its own way, Raschka reimagines the classic for a new audience. All ages. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Primary, Intermediate) Chris Raschka's loose gestural style seems to have been destined to illustrate Dylan Thomas's evocative free-associating memoir. While previous illustrators of editions for children (such as Trina Schart Hyman) have provided cozy, realistic art that grounds Thomas's ultra-poetic prose, Raschka chooses to visually mimic Thomas's style. When the text flows with hardly a comma or period through a series of events, Raschka presents a long interconnected picture across the entire wide spread. When Thomas gives a delightfully succinct character study, the illustration shows that character, at times more accurate to the essence of the person than to the details of clothing described. Handmade paper flecked with fibers and threads adds a textural fizz to the gouache and ink art, full of bright colors, flowing calligraphic lines, and white paint daubs for snow. The elegant and restrained design includes meticulously planned page breaks, generous leading between lines of type, and a repetition of the handmade paper on the endpapers. An exquisite blend of fine bookmaking and compatible sensibility. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Luscious illustrations form a perfect match to the rolling language of the Christmas classic. Many could argue that the only way to experience Thomas's language is to listen to it--that illustrations cannot possibly be anything other than incidental to the dizzyingly rich language whose breathless rhythms frequently challenge the reader's lung capacity. If it is possible to illustrate these cadences adequately, then Raschka has managed to pull it off. Painted in ink and gouache on torn panels of fibrous handmade paper, the images are full of thick, sweeping lines that complement the language beautifully, the actual figures almost taking a backseat to the grand swoops of line and color. The absorbent paper blurs the lines, leading the eye to the fuzzy edges of the panels--there's not a sharp edge in here. Inside scenes are cozy, saturated in firelight yellows and oranges, sprinkled with snoozing dogs and Uncles and bosomy Aunts, while in contrast, snowy outside scenes are rendered mostly in blues, grays, and whites that are nevertheless dotted with yellow-lit windows; comfort and warmth are never far away. Gorgeous. (Memoir. 5+) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 3-6. First published in book form in 1954, this haunting memoir of the poet's childhood Christmases is back in a well-designed package. Creating the art with ink and gouache on torn and textured paper, Raschka reflects the spirit of this read-aloud favorite without always adhering literally to descriptions in the text: observant children will find that one of the long cats is not long and the fawn-bowlered man wears a bowler of black and red. Appearing on nearly every page, the pictures are alight with color and express an almost musical sense of movement. Though many readers will prefer the older editions with more traditional illustrations by Edward Ardizzone and Trina Schart Hyman, Raschka's fans will enjoy the art for its own sake. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2004 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Thomas's Christmas classic takes a back seat only to Dickens's story about the old tightwad who learns the error of his ways overnight. This charming edition is roughly 5.25" square and features a number of woodcut illustrations by Ellen Raskin. This beauty would be perfect to include in a display for the holidays (they'll be here before you know it). Buy a bunch of them. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.