A Particular Boy, A Particular Present
SILVER PACKAGES: An Appalachian Christmas Story by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet, is a picture book I look forward to sharing with my class each year. For one thing, it’s a wonderfully tender story written by one of my favorite authors. For another, it’s one of those books that I can’t read aloud without getting choked up, often shedding a tear or two.
There’s much to love in this story about the way in which a rich man repays a people’s kindnesses towards him and how, ultimately, his kindness lives on, in and through those people, in particular in the life of one little boy-turned-man, Frankie.
By the way I’ve described it, it doesn’t exactly seem like a picture book, does it? But, like so much of Rylant’s work, it’s full of heart and beautiful language. Here’s a taste from the story’s first page:
“A train comes through Appalachia every year at Christmas time. And though it doesn’t have antlers, nor does the man standing on its rear platform have a long white beard, it may as well be Santa Claus and his sleigh for all the excitement it stirs up.“
Originally written as part of a collection of short stories, SILVER PACKAGES might be considered sentimental because of the larger-than-life profile of the child-turned-man. In Rylant’s skillful hands, however, poetic language, strong imagery, and vivid sensory details make this a story that is not easily forgotten.
I've lived and traveled around the world, but now make my home in California.
By day, I teach; evenings and many weekends, I write.
My teaching, reading, and writing eventually led to a degree in Language and Literacy, and later, an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.