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Addie Mills #1
The House Without a Christmas Tree
In 1946 a ten-year-old girl tries to understand and overcome her stern father's objections to having a Christmas tree in the house.
84 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 150 reviews
January 15, 2021
The sympathetic story is hard for some to imagine, seeming inconceivable that a father and husband would hold onto his guilt and grief for 10 years, but the family dynamics here are the ordinary and unchanging manner in which many families find themselves. I'm glad Addie had her grandma on her side as she gave Addie faith, hope, and love along with friendship and family. All it takes is one person to turn things around and Addie, her grandma, and her dad each encompass the task in their own way. Without each of them, the story could not have turned out the way it did, nor offered the lasting affection and attachment of the bonds of family.
As an adult, the epilogue is what resonated with me the most. The message is clear; the love for our family is always there even if its long hidden under layers of unpleasant feelings, and that love will always bring us home.
As an adult, the epilogue is what resonated with me the most. The message is clear; the love for our family is always there even if its long hidden under layers of unpleasant feelings, and that love will always bring us home.
December 7, 2024
solid 3 stars from me - a classic novella from the 70's, this tale centers on Addie in a small Nebraska town who lives with her widower Dad & eccentric Grandma and doesn't understand why her home is the only one without a Xmas tree. Lots of family dynamics, but for me the best part was the look back at a time when I was also a youngster & the nostalgia. Quick read that's also appropriate for/to kiddos.
December 14, 2018
The genesis of this slender but excellent novel is somewhat unusual, and more complex in the relationship of novelization to movie than most. In the summer of 1972, Gail Rock (b. 1940), who was then working with the CBS TV network, was chatting with some Jewish co-workers about the December holidays. Curious about Christmas, they asked her for some of her own Christmas experiences. She reached back into the recollection of her own childhood in the small Nebraska town of Valley (pop. 1800) to tell essentially the story fictionalized here. Entranced, they insisted that she write it down, and playwright Eleanor Perry developed that text into the screenplay for the made-for-TV movie with the same title (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068720/ ), which first aired later that year. Rock herself wrote this novelization in 1974. So the novel has very much of an autobiographical character, which accounts for its realism; Addie Mills is definitely patterned on Rock herself, and Clear River is clearly (pun intended!) Valley. (The Nebraska setting isn't specified explicitly in the book, but references to shoe shopping in Omaha and an aunt in Des Moines provide clues; while I was reading it, I pictured a setting in western Iowa, which wasn't too far off.)
Because of the ten-year-old protagonist/narrator, the publishers marketed this as a kid's book (it has no content inappropriate for kids; the vocabulary and diction are within the reading level of an intelligent child, like Addie herself), and kids will appreciate the illustrations and the fact that it's a quick read with a straightforward, linear plot. But they aren't alone in appreciating those things; many adult readers will as well. Moreover, this serious story about family dynamics, with a fraught father-daughter relationship where both generations have things to learn at its heart, is not "juvenile" in any pejorative sense; it can be appreciated across generations, and has worthwhile messages for readers of any age. Indeed, now over 40 years after it was written, its textured evocation of the America of 1946 might have a special appeal to older readers like myself. (I was born in 1952, and grew up in a small city in eastern Iowa, not an actual small town; but still, the 1946 setting here has much in common with my own childhood.) It's not historical fiction as such (though for kids today, it would read as if it was); but in a real way it brings to life a vanished world lost under an avalanche of social and economic changes --not all of them for the better.
"Heartwarming" is an adjective I associate with advertising copy-writer's hype, and so tend to avoid in my own descriptions of books. But I honestly think it's called for here. I can also say that as far as I can recall, I've never actually cried over a book, and didn't here either; but at the end, I did feel my eyes threatening to tear up, and in a good way. Rock wrote three sequels about Addie. Right now, I'm trying not to get sucked into any more series; but I might read the sequels someday.
Because of the ten-year-old protagonist/narrator, the publishers marketed this as a kid's book (it has no content inappropriate for kids; the vocabulary and diction are within the reading level of an intelligent child, like Addie herself), and kids will appreciate the illustrations and the fact that it's a quick read with a straightforward, linear plot. But they aren't alone in appreciating those things; many adult readers will as well. Moreover, this serious story about family dynamics, with a fraught father-daughter relationship where both generations have things to learn at its heart, is not "juvenile" in any pejorative sense; it can be appreciated across generations, and has worthwhile messages for readers of any age. Indeed, now over 40 years after it was written, its textured evocation of the America of 1946 might have a special appeal to older readers like myself. (I was born in 1952, and grew up in a small city in eastern Iowa, not an actual small town; but still, the 1946 setting here has much in common with my own childhood.) It's not historical fiction as such (though for kids today, it would read as if it was); but in a real way it brings to life a vanished world lost under an avalanche of social and economic changes --not all of them for the better.
"Heartwarming" is an adjective I associate with advertising copy-writer's hype, and so tend to avoid in my own descriptions of books. But I honestly think it's called for here. I can also say that as far as I can recall, I've never actually cried over a book, and didn't here either; but at the end, I did feel my eyes threatening to tear up, and in a good way. Rock wrote three sequels about Addie. Right now, I'm trying not to get sucked into any more series; but I might read the sequels someday.
December 10, 2018
Even without the Christmas tree you get to spent the Christmas season with Addie, a 10 year old girl living in a small town in 1947, and what a joyful and busy one it is. It may remind adults of their own youthful Christmases, as this is a nostalgic, charming and heartwarming story that even adults would love. But wait, she may just get a tree by the end of the story. I assure you, you will love Addie and her grandmother.
I am so glad that Janie R and Linda, both of Goodreads gave great reviews of this book, as I collect Christmas stories, and I must say, right now I have a big bag to give away because I didn't like them. Books I have saved are those by Truman Capote's "One Christmas" and "A Christmas Memory, and others are by various authors, "A Cup of Christmas Tea" by Tom Hegg, "A Child's Christmas In Wales" by Dylan Thomas, "Christmas in the Plains" by Jimmy Carter, and "A Christmas Card" by Paul Theroux. And I have many new books now, and as I read them, and if I like them I will add them to this list here.
And now I have learned that the author has written more stories about Addie. And that there was a movie made of this that you can buy on Amazon.
December 20, 2020
You have probably figured out the plot of this book from its title. It is just after WW II in a Midwestern small town. “It was one of those towns where you knew who lived in every house and recognized every car and said hello to everyone on the street. There was one doctor, one movie theater, and five bars and four churches, which the people of Clear River found a nice balance of sin and salvation.”
Addie and her best friend, Carla Mae, live next to each other but their families couldn’t be different. Carla Mae has scads of siblings and a functional family despite that. Addie’s mom died when Addie was an infant and her father has relied on his mother to keep things going while he is still somewhat depressed. “Grandma always did everything the hard way, which was just her nature. She would rather risk dropping the pancakes than dirty another dish. She saw that as her kind of individualism, but my dad found it very irritating, and I thought it was just plain funny. The three of us seldom had the same reaction to anything. As I look back on it now, I see that our differences had a lot to do with enriching my life, but at the age of ten, I saw them only as the cause of all my troubles."
Since his wife died, there hasn’t been a tree in this house for Christmas. Addie is determined that this year will be different. But persuading her dad wasn’t going to be easy.
Yes, it is a story that many “tweenagers” will appreciate but teenagers and adults as well. I am glad that I was able to read it before December 25 and it will go into our collection.
If you want to learn a bit more about this book’s context, I recommend Werner’s review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And, thanks to Jessaka for pointing me in this direction.
Addie and her best friend, Carla Mae, live next to each other but their families couldn’t be different. Carla Mae has scads of siblings and a functional family despite that. Addie’s mom died when Addie was an infant and her father has relied on his mother to keep things going while he is still somewhat depressed. “Grandma always did everything the hard way, which was just her nature. She would rather risk dropping the pancakes than dirty another dish. She saw that as her kind of individualism, but my dad found it very irritating, and I thought it was just plain funny. The three of us seldom had the same reaction to anything. As I look back on it now, I see that our differences had a lot to do with enriching my life, but at the age of ten, I saw them only as the cause of all my troubles."
Since his wife died, there hasn’t been a tree in this house for Christmas. Addie is determined that this year will be different. But persuading her dad wasn’t going to be easy.
Yes, it is a story that many “tweenagers” will appreciate but teenagers and adults as well. I am glad that I was able to read it before December 25 and it will go into our collection.
If you want to learn a bit more about this book’s context, I recommend Werner’s review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And, thanks to Jessaka for pointing me in this direction.
January 4, 2022
“The House Without A Christmas Tree”, Gail Rock was a television special. Grandma is memorable! Addie was raised by her Dad and Grandma at her home. Since his wife died in Addie’s infancy, he taught her things and joked but resisted bonding with her. Addie imagines it was because he wanted a boy. This is a snapshot of an unusual family in December 1946, when Addie was ten.
The words chosen for a review matter more than a rating. These stars aren’t skyrocketing, not because I don’t deem this a worthy story. We are giving this book to a sweet girl as a present tomorrow, who relates to growing up with a Grandma and visiting her Dad as often as possible. I found Addie pert and vindictive and didn’t connect with her. I surely felt for her and loved her epilogue as a grownup. Mostly, her Dad’s behaviour was unlikely. I did not sympathize with him. She’s had no Christmas tree for nine years, because it reminds him of his wife? The sky could be a reminder! In a Christian family, a Christmas tree is a staple.
This snapshot was wonderfully constructed. There is a best friend from a rowdy house, who loves eating lunch at Addie’s quiet one and this dear Grandma, with whom Addie shares a bed. She has a teacher the whole class adores, as I did in grade 5 too. I loved the pupils’ choosing of her gift. You would think Addie’s family poor but there is a classmate’s family who couldn’t afford a tree; far from declining one. It’s uplifting that Addie’s heart goes to them. Some exult over the book’s time period, which appeared to have been hard and not “a simpler time”. I praise the way the story’s dynamics reach us all, anytime.
The words chosen for a review matter more than a rating. These stars aren’t skyrocketing, not because I don’t deem this a worthy story. We are giving this book to a sweet girl as a present tomorrow, who relates to growing up with a Grandma and visiting her Dad as often as possible. I found Addie pert and vindictive and didn’t connect with her. I surely felt for her and loved her epilogue as a grownup. Mostly, her Dad’s behaviour was unlikely. I did not sympathize with him. She’s had no Christmas tree for nine years, because it reminds him of his wife? The sky could be a reminder! In a Christian family, a Christmas tree is a staple.
This snapshot was wonderfully constructed. There is a best friend from a rowdy house, who loves eating lunch at Addie’s quiet one and this dear Grandma, with whom Addie shares a bed. She has a teacher the whole class adores, as I did in grade 5 too. I loved the pupils’ choosing of her gift. You would think Addie’s family poor but there is a classmate’s family who couldn’t afford a tree; far from declining one. It’s uplifting that Addie’s heart goes to them. Some exult over the book’s time period, which appeared to have been hard and not “a simpler time”. I praise the way the story’s dynamics reach us all, anytime.
November 28, 2010
There are three Christmas specials that should be considered classics and shown every year:
* the 1966 version of The Christmas Memory, starring Geraldine Page, narrated by Truman Capote himself
* Earl Hamner Jr's 1971 The Homecoming: A Christmas Story which was the takeoff for The Waltons
* the 1972 House without a Christmas Tree starring Jason Robards, Mildred Natwick and Lisa Lucas
All three are based on childhood memories from the 1930's (Capote) and 1940's when life was a little simpler. I suppose one could find them out there somewhere in videoland, but they really should just "be there" ... maybe not quite like the 1983 version of The Christmas Story - Ralphie and his Red Ryder BB gun which I love but which becomes overkill with a 24 hour marathon. Perhaps upcoming 40th anniversaries will cause someone to consider releasing them once again.
The House Without a Christmas Tree was based on the story by Gail Rock, and that is the book that this review is supposed to be about. An excellent story - I loved it.
* the 1966 version of The Christmas Memory, starring Geraldine Page, narrated by Truman Capote himself
* Earl Hamner Jr's 1971 The Homecoming: A Christmas Story which was the takeoff for The Waltons
* the 1972 House without a Christmas Tree starring Jason Robards, Mildred Natwick and Lisa Lucas
All three are based on childhood memories from the 1930's (Capote) and 1940's when life was a little simpler. I suppose one could find them out there somewhere in videoland, but they really should just "be there" ... maybe not quite like the 1983 version of The Christmas Story - Ralphie and his Red Ryder BB gun which I love but which becomes overkill with a 24 hour marathon. Perhaps upcoming 40th anniversaries will cause someone to consider releasing them once again.
The House Without a Christmas Tree was based on the story by Gail Rock, and that is the book that this review is supposed to be about. An excellent story - I loved it.
December 14, 2025
This book is about a little girl whose father refused to buy a Christmas tree. Good Christmas story!
November 9, 2016
A classic, as are all the Addie Mills books. (Or they should be.)
Addie grows up with her grandma and her distant father. Her mother died when she was an infant, and she worries that her father wanted a boy. Since her mother's death, her father has not allowed any Christmas decorations, since they were her mother's favorite. Addie's struggle to have the kind of Christmas she's always dreamed of is in essence the struggle to have the kind of loving relationship with her father that she's always dreamed of.
Addie grows up with her grandma and her distant father. Her mother died when she was an infant, and she worries that her father wanted a boy. Since her mother's death, her father has not allowed any Christmas decorations, since they were her mother's favorite. Addie's struggle to have the kind of Christmas she's always dreamed of is in essence the struggle to have the kind of loving relationship with her father that she's always dreamed of.
January 14, 2016
“Who says I’m a character?”
Addie’s house doesn’t have a Christmas tree. It’s missing other stuff, too.Though the Christmas season has passed, this gem addresses issues relevant year round.
“In this life you can’t have everything you want.”
Excellent story on many levels. Addie grabs your attention and your heart and doesn’t let go. This forty-year-old, award-winning illustrated novella captures at time (late 1940s) which is beyond the memory of most alive today. The story debuted as a television movie before being published. It’s still being in print tells you something about the universality of the story.
“He’ll be black and blue before he realizes that’s your way of liking.
The Charles C. Gehm illustrations are amazing. Don’t know if other editions have them, but the one with this cover does.
“No good every came from layin’ blame.”
Good reading for ten year old and seventy year olds. It’s about more than a tree.
“It scared me to think about him being so upset about something that I didn’t even know about.
Addie’s house doesn’t have a Christmas tree. It’s missing other stuff, too.Though the Christmas season has passed, this gem addresses issues relevant year round.
“In this life you can’t have everything you want.”
Excellent story on many levels. Addie grabs your attention and your heart and doesn’t let go. This forty-year-old, award-winning illustrated novella captures at time (late 1940s) which is beyond the memory of most alive today. The story debuted as a television movie before being published. It’s still being in print tells you something about the universality of the story.
“He’ll be black and blue before he realizes that’s your way of liking.
The Charles C. Gehm illustrations are amazing. Don’t know if other editions have them, but the one with this cover does.
“No good every came from layin’ blame.”
Good reading for ten year old and seventy year olds. It’s about more than a tree.
“It scared me to think about him being so upset about something that I didn’t even know about.
November 15, 2010
I was looking for a Christmas novel that 1) had heart, 2) wasn't sappy, and 3) didn't make me cry. I found it in The House Without a Christmas Tree: sweet, concise (I read it today), and old-fashioned in the best way. It's the story of Addie Mills, a fiesty 10-year-old in 1946, who can't understand why her father won't allow them to have a Christmas tree. Father and daughter both have trouble communicating with those they care about, and so it's good they have Grandma to bridge the gap. Grandma tries to make Addie see the situation from her father's point of view, that of a man who's still grieving the loss of his wife, while simultaneously explaining to her son the importance of loving the ones still with us. But it takes a series of miscues, including Addie dragging a tree through town (twice!) before all can be resolved. A lovely story that leaves you hoping there really are girls like Addie Mills in the world and wishing you could know one.
October 28, 2017
This was one of my favorite books as a child and one that I still love to read from time to time. Addie Mills is a real kid, not the fake kind usually found in children's books from the 1970s. She's smart, witty and basically a good person but she's also ten years old and mischevious. She is determined to get a Christmas tree the holiday season of 1946 and not even her grouchy (to cover his immense pain at being a widower for almost ten years) father is going to stand in her way. With her caring, good-hearted grandmother by her side, Addie not only manages to get her Christmas tree but teaches us all a thing or two about not giving up - and Christmas!
September 19, 2020
Even more emotionally charged than I remembered, this is the story of ten year-old Addie and her father's less than perfect relationship.
The year is 1946 and they are living with her grandmother (her father's Mom). Addie has never had a Christmas tree and will do almost anything to bring one into her home. Her father does not want a a tree as it reminds him of his Addie's mother who died when she was a few months old. Will Addie and her Dad be able to resolve their differences in this Christmas classic?
The year is 1946 and they are living with her grandmother (her father's Mom). Addie has never had a Christmas tree and will do almost anything to bring one into her home. Her father does not want a a tree as it reminds him of his Addie's mother who died when she was a few months old. Will Addie and her Dad be able to resolve their differences in this Christmas classic?
November 26, 2021
It was rare that I got to purchase a book from the Scholastic book order from school, so I tend to remember the books that I was allowed to purchase. This was one that I really treasured. My library acquired the e-book, so I got to revisit it. As a child I was very taken by Addie and her tree-less home. It made me wonder as we drove about town visiting family during the holidays, about those houses without them, and the stories behind those doors. It was wonderful and nostalgic to read this story again.
December 14, 2019
We loved this as a read aloud. Sentimental and a little bittersweet.
December 21, 2019
I had never heard of this book before until it appeared as something to act out in a game of Christmas charades I played recently. It was cute and sweet. I loved Addie’s grandmother.
July 30, 2016
This story takes us back to 1946,and I enjoyed reading the way of living back then,esp. the school days. The main character, Addie was my favorite, she was so funny at times. The least liked character was her father, I felt like slapping him good at times. I loved her grandmother, she reminded me of my grandmother. This story brought me to tears at one point, I can't tell what it was, but that was one of the times that I didn't like her father at all! He was selfish and stubborn. Sometimes, when one grieves,others can suffer,when that one person grieving becomes self-centered and filled with self-pity. In this story, the Christmas spirit comes to this household, in more ways than one.
November 2, 2019
Heartwarming story. Gets you in the mood for Christmas.
November 28, 2022
Set in 1946, this is a sweet and poignant story about a 10-year-old girl who longs to have a Christmas tree, but her father won’t allow it because he is holding on to grief and reminders of the past. This book is short and easy to read. Definitely adding it to my list of Christmas books that I love to read over again each year.
November 15, 2023
It had been years since I first read this one. This is a reflective book about a memorable-though-slightly-tricky Christmas. The narrator is reflecting on the Christmas of 1946. Readers meet a young girl who lives with her father and grandmother. Her father doesn't exactly know how to show love, affection, or concern for his growing-up daughter. In fact, he fails to see her as a human being, as the grandmother bravely points out in a tense scene. The child has no memories of her mother--who died the year she was born--and she's struggling to find her place in the home. She loves her father, but, she rarely feels approved of by her father. Every day no matter how hard she tries to please him, to interact with him, he puts her aside and/or criticizes her. Perhaps readers aren't told this is a year-round occurrence, perhaps it is jumping to conclusions, for maybe he is just crankier around Christmas, but, regardless he is a difficult person to love. In this one, the little girl wants a Christmas tree but is refused. It's not a matter of money--merely preference. The little girl misunderstanding this does think it more a matter of her father's stinginess and unwillingness to 'waste' money on something so trivial...so when she has an opportunity to win a tree, she does so with pride and hope...
The ending is predictable, I imagine. Most readers will guess that somehow, someway she will get her tree and somehow manage to make a connection with her father. But. It is a story worth reading at least once.
The ending is predictable, I imagine. Most readers will guess that somehow, someway she will get her tree and somehow manage to make a connection with her father. But. It is a story worth reading at least once.
December 22, 2018
I grew up watching the movie of the same name every Christmas with my mom. I must have missed watching the opening credits where it says the movie was based on the book by Gail Rock so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out there was a book.
Addie Mills is the story's main character. She's a bright kid who loves art and school. Addie lives with her grandmother and father with her mother having passed away when she was a baby. Every year, Addie asks her father for a Christmas tree but each year he refuses. Addie has never really understood the reason behind this until she wins a Christmas tree at school.
This isn't your typical Christmas story, especially with the emotional aspect of it. Addie's family also doesn't fit the description of what you might think of for families in the 1940's. However, it does make for a heartwarming story that does touch on the spirit of giving and caring for others. This book is marketed towards kids, I believe, but I think it, along with the other Addie books, can be enjoyed by any ages.
Addie Mills is the story's main character. She's a bright kid who loves art and school. Addie lives with her grandmother and father with her mother having passed away when she was a baby. Every year, Addie asks her father for a Christmas tree but each year he refuses. Addie has never really understood the reason behind this until she wins a Christmas tree at school.
This isn't your typical Christmas story, especially with the emotional aspect of it. Addie's family also doesn't fit the description of what you might think of for families in the 1940's. However, it does make for a heartwarming story that does touch on the spirit of giving and caring for others. This book is marketed towards kids, I believe, but I think it, along with the other Addie books, can be enjoyed by any ages.
October 1, 2020
I'm sorry. This is short and sweet and utterly cliched. I'm not a total Scrooge; I like A Christmas Carol, and Truman Capote's Christmas Memory, and Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales. And a few Rankin-Bass (?) tv specials. But most beloved stories are like this, predictable, with lessons galore, and too sentimental... not for me.
December 25, 2022
Short & sweet & a good old fashioned story. Loved it as much this time as I loved it years ago along with the movie, so glad I reread it this year
November 26, 2024
There are two great Goodreads reviews I would like to reference, ‘Sheri’ and ‘Werner’ who both wrote it better than I could have and had extra information about the history of the writing that I learned from reading their reviews. I am currently working to gather a collection of classic and perhaps long forgotten Christmas books and this is a treasure I found at my school in an old/discarded classroom library book give away. And before that, according to the stamps inside, a discarded book from a Rogers, Arkansas junior high school. I love to imagine a book and its history of being passed around and shared. Especially Christmas books.
This book was published the year I was born. 50 years ago. And its recollections of the author’s time growing up in Iowa in the 1940’s takes us back even further. I love the nostalgia of it, I love the reality of how holidays can be painful times when you have lost a loved one, I loved some of the antiquated vocabulary that kids today, if experiencing reading with an adult (which I would recommend), would benefit from some definitions and elaboration. There are examples of a different time, hard times, but communities and people who create wonderful memories together. There are some simple, yet poignant lessons that will stay with you after reading this. And in some ways make you feel lucky for all you have, but also maybe wish for that simpler time too.
This book was published the year I was born. 50 years ago. And its recollections of the author’s time growing up in Iowa in the 1940’s takes us back even further. I love the nostalgia of it, I love the reality of how holidays can be painful times when you have lost a loved one, I loved some of the antiquated vocabulary that kids today, if experiencing reading with an adult (which I would recommend), would benefit from some definitions and elaboration. There are examples of a different time, hard times, but communities and people who create wonderful memories together. There are some simple, yet poignant lessons that will stay with you after reading this. And in some ways make you feel lucky for all you have, but also maybe wish for that simpler time too.
December 7, 2024
A heartwarming 1946 Christmas story about putting others before yourself. I read it aloud to my kids and they enjoyed it. It has 3-4 cuss words.
November 23, 2025
I love everything about the Addie books. Gail Rock does that Marilyn Sachs and Beverly Cleary thing where she writes her young protagonists as people who are, frankly, sort of annoying. I mean, aren't we all?
April 1, 2020
A book written in the 1970’s, set in the 1940’s, which I’m reading in 2020.
Now that I have a bit of time, I’m reading some novels that I may use with my Gr. 7-9 Special Ed class next school year. I wasn’t overly keen on reading a Christmas novel, but this was actually quite good! I think that my students will understand the plot, and I’m sure that the prices used in the book will make them laugh. I definitely see myself reading this with my class next December.
Now that I have a bit of time, I’m reading some novels that I may use with my Gr. 7-9 Special Ed class next school year. I wasn’t overly keen on reading a Christmas novel, but this was actually quite good! I think that my students will understand the plot, and I’m sure that the prices used in the book will make them laugh. I definitely see myself reading this with my class next December.
December 23, 2025
Good read aloud for my students during the holidays.
January 12, 2020
This is a surprisingly powerful story of a father/daughter relationship in 1940s Nebraska. It's a true story (names changed) in which the author recalls the Christmas of 1946 when she desperately wanted a Christmas tree and learned the reasons why her father didn't. It was made into a television special in the early 1970s and will become a story I read (and watch) annually.
December 10, 2017
I remember seeing the Christmas special when I was a girl. It was one of my mother's favorites--I suppose because it took place in the early 40's when she was a girl and it involved a father consumed with unhappiness, something she was familiar with. I saw the book on the Overdrive page and decided to check it out for old time's sake. It's a lovely, sentimental chapter book about a spirited girl whose widowed father will not allow a Christmas tree into their house. Addie's longing for a tree sets the story in motion. A well crafted holiday story for young readers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 150 reviews