Day Four
"Pyn was a small, soft girl. She had a quiet, gentle voice, tiny smooth hands, and two bunches of hair bouncing off either side of her head."
Her father, Oother "was a big gruff man. He had a loud, booming voice, large, rough hands, and a bristly black beard."
Pyn might be described here as soft but she is also wise, patient and determined. Christmas is coming. Pyn would like a Christmas tree. It seems they have never had one but her father, who insists on being called Oother, says no. We do get a small hint, though, that he does have a soft side. "He looked at his tiny daughter, whose eyes danced brightly in the firelight. How very much like her mother she is, he thought."
On Christmas morning they still don't have a tree so Pyn sets off alone to find one, just a small one. Her father finds her buried in a snow drift. He lifts her onto his shoulders and they set off. Pyn identifies the perfect tree but "Before he chopped down the fir tree, Oother and Pyn bowed their heads and gave thanks to the fir tree for allowing them to cut it down."
They take the tree home and Pyn sets to work with birds nests, honeycomb wasp nests, acorns, red berries and feathers. Decorating the tree is another step towards healing for Oother. His heart is melting. He has been suffering deep grief after the death of his beloved wife. When the tree is nearly finished he gives Pyn a very special ornament for the top and at last he is able to hear his true name - Papa.
There are echoes here of another splendid Christmas book (see my top 5 below) The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.
A Christmas Tree for Pyn is my best discovery this Christmas. It is not new as it was published in 2011 but if you can find a used copy I would say buy this one for your home or school collection. I would love to find a copy because this is a Christmas book that would be in my top titles list. It is available from iTunes. You can see some of the illustrations here. In 2012 the review for Kirkus said "But today I want to shine the spotlight on a more under-the-radar book that I also think is one of this year’s best holiday titles - A Christmas Tree for Pyn."
Image source: http://www.picturebooktheology.com/2017/12/december-holiday-books-10-11.html
- The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
- The Silver Christmas Tree
- What do you wish for?
- Truffle's Christmas
- The Empty Stocking
And if I am allowed one or two more I would add Wombat Divine (Australia) and The Christmas Caravan (New Zealand).
If you are looking for some more very special Christmas books take a look at this blog post from All About Learning.
This book speaks to the heart of the Christmas season, where families grow closer, memories are shared, and a tree becomes more than it could ever seem to be. Waking Brain Cells
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