Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story

by Cynthia Rylant, Chris K. Soentpiet (Illustrator)

Overview

In Appalachia each Christmas, a boy named Frankie waits beside the tracks for the Christmas Train, which will bring presents to the children who live in coal towns and hollows. Year after year, Frankie hopes that one particular gift — one very special gift — will be tossed to him from that train. And it is this enduring hope that will guide him to the true meaning of the season.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780531300510
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	09/01/1997
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	258,071
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 10.25(h) x (d)
Lexile:	830L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Chris Soentpiet (pronounced: soon-peet) is an award winning illustrator and author. Aside from writing and illustrating, Chris travels all around the world promoting the love of children's literature, the arts, and multi-culturalism.

When Chris was eight years of age, an American family adopted him from Korea. His talent for watercolors has won him an art scholarship to attend the prestigious Pratt Institute in New York City. After graduating with honors, he wrote and illustrated his first picture book, Around Town. His books have won praise from many critics such as Parent's Choice, American Bookseller, Junior Library Guild, New York Times, and American Library Association.

Cynthia Rylant has written more than 100 books, including Dog Heaven, Cat Heaven, and the Newbery Medal-winning novel Missing May. She lives with her pets in Oregon.

Editorial Reviews

"Rylant's story is enhanced by the paintings of Chris K. Soentpiet, whose renderings of frosty Appalachian days and a young boy's memories are vibrant. Together, Ryland and Soentpiet have created a story for children and parents too." — The New York Times Book Review

"A well-rendered reflection on the importance of giving and sharing." — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

Gr 1-4Full-page watercolor paintings decorate this warm, sentimental story loosely based on actual events. Rylant traces the origins of an Appalachian "Christmas Train" that travels through the mountains each year on December 23 to a rich man who wished to repay a debt of kindness he had received many years before. He faithfully returns and tosses silver packages from the caboose to the coal-town children who wait by the tracks. One such child is Frankie, who longs for a doctor's kit every year; instead he gets much-needed socks or mittens along with small toys. As an adult, he moves back to the town to live and work, having fulfilled his dream of becoming a doctor. With her clear, balanced, and well-paced storyteller's voice, the author builds the anticipation and excitement that the childrenand especially Frankiefeel at the train's annual arrival. Although the heroic profile of this child-turned-man makes him more of a symbol than a real person, his story is capably told. The illustrations provide panoramic views of the Appalachian countryside, with deep nighttime blues and wintry colors, strengthening the sense of place. A well-rendered reflection on the importance of giving and sharing.

School Library Journal