Here’s the link.

Caro Jesù Bambino composed by Piero Soffici, lyrics by Pier Quinto Carriaggi

Caro Jesù Bambino

Tu che sei tanto buono

Fammi questo piacer

Lascia una volta il cielo

E vieni a giocar

A giocare con me … more

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.