[.ca] The Story of Holly and Ivy (ISBN 033043974X)

Christmas of the Heart:
I would not think of letting a Christmas go by without reading this story to my grandchildren. I have read this story to my 3rd grade students for 12 years. Holly and Ivy are just right for each other, and good wins out in the end. Despite Abracadabra!

A warm and touching story!:
Beautiful story telling! The author beatifully writes how an orphan's wish arrives on Christmas day. This story tells so clearly by use of narration and multiple personage dialogues to carry a chronological event and space. The minute I opened the book and read a few lines, I knew I was going to read it in one breath. One may get a bit discouraged by the large amount of litteracy compared to very little illustration (I felt that when I 1st browsed thru the book), but boy, was I glad to have looked past the 1st impression.

--Wishes can come true--:
THE STORY OF HOLLY AND IVY is the tale of Ivy a small orphan girl who creates a pretend grandmother and then really tries to find someone who can be that real person for her. She leaves the orphanage at Christmas and is hopeful that her dreams will come true. She also longs for a beautiful doll and sees one in the window of a toy store. The doll's name is Holly and she has also been wishing; however, her wishes are for a little girl who will love her. This book has everything; a toy store filled with wonderful toys that have personalities of their own, including a somewhat sinister owl named Abracadabra. We also meet Mrs. Jones who is lonely for a child and decides to decorate her house for Christmas as if she was expecting a child to visit. Her husband is a policeman who finds Ivy and brings her home. The book is appropriate for children ages 5-10 and I think that most children would love the story. This is a very colorful book with lovely illustrations by Barbara Cooney. The author is Rumer Godden who is one of my favorite writers. Over the last few years, I've been locating any of her books that I can find for my library, including her stories for children. I'm writing reviews in the hope that her beautiful stories will continue to be read.

charming Christmas tale, sure to become a tradition:
I found this book by accident in the local library one year, and I read it to my two daughters. We cherished it for the two weeks we had it, and read it every night it seemed. None of us tired of it. The next year, we did the same thing, and by now I have finally had the good sense to purchase one. This edition has beautiful pictures, better than another one I've seen. The story is so cozy and precious that it warms your heart. It's sure to become a tradition with your family as well. Buy this book and love it! It whispers of Christmases past and yet is timeless in its story of a little girl longing for that special doll under the tree. The story is filled with miracles, just like Christmas. In our world today, there is nothing more settling and reassuring than reading a wonderful tale to our children.

A Christmas tale for all seasons:
Holly is a doll who wants a little girl for Christmas -- it is her fondest wish. Ivy is a little girl who wishes for a grandmother for Christmas. Everyone has left St. Agnes's Orphanage for the holidays and she is lonely, so she decides to find her mythical grandmother. Mrs. Jones feels that Christmas needs children. "Couldn't we have a little girl?" she asks. But Mr. Jones thinks she's daft. Add a sympathetic boy and a villainous toy owl and you have a page-turner. Rumor Godden is the author of many fine and classic books for adults like THIS HOUSE OF BREDE and THE GREENGAGE SUMMER. Her rich and sumptuous writing guides stories full of delightful characters and, in the case of HOLLY AND IVY, little twists to the tale to surprise the reader. If you're shy about reading "kiddie lit" for fun because you're an adult, find a child to read this to. And no matter what age -- teens will love the whimsy in the story as much as smaller children. The illustrator is Barbara Cooney, a Caldecott Medal winner who has illustrated over a hundred books. She has captured the characters, setting and holiday appeal of the story in colorful pictures on every page. Don't wait for Christmas! This is a story -- and a book -- for all seasons.