What do you think?
Rate this book
Wee Christmas Cabin
A tinker's child who grows up helping everyone in her Irish village is rewarded in her old age with a cabin built by fairies on Christmas Eve.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published October 15, 2007
About the author
Margaret Hodges
72 books56 followersMargaret "Peggy" Hodges was an American writer of books for children.
She was born Sarah Margaret Moore in Indianapolis, Indiana to Arthur Carlisle and Annie Marie Moore. She enrolled at Tudor Hall, a college preparatory school for girls. A 1932 graduate of Vassar College, she arrived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband Fletcher Hodges Jr. when in 1937 he became curator at the Stephen Foster Memorial. She trained as a librarian at Carnegie Institute of Technology, now Carnegie Mellon University, under Elizabeth Nesbitt, and she volunteered as a storyteller at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Beginning in 1958 with One Little Drum, she wrote and published more than 40 books.
Her 1985 book Saint George and the Dragon, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, won the Caldecott Medal of the American Library Association.
She was a professor of library science at the University of Pittsburgh, where she retired in 1976.
Hodges died of heart disease on December 13, 2005 at her home in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. She suffered from Parkinson's disease.
She wrote her stories on a notepad or a typewriter. "I need good ideas, and they don't come out of machines," she once said.
She was born Sarah Margaret Moore in Indianapolis, Indiana to Arthur Carlisle and Annie Marie Moore. She enrolled at Tudor Hall, a college preparatory school for girls. A 1932 graduate of Vassar College, she arrived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband Fletcher Hodges Jr. when in 1937 he became curator at the Stephen Foster Memorial. She trained as a librarian at Carnegie Institute of Technology, now Carnegie Mellon University, under Elizabeth Nesbitt, and she volunteered as a storyteller at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Beginning in 1958 with One Little Drum, she wrote and published more than 40 books.
Her 1985 book Saint George and the Dragon, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, won the Caldecott Medal of the American Library Association.
She was a professor of library science at the University of Pittsburgh, where she retired in 1976.
Hodges died of heart disease on December 13, 2005 at her home in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. She suffered from Parkinson's disease.
She wrote her stories on a notepad or a typewriter. "I need good ideas, and they don't come out of machines," she once said.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 22, 2019
I have never heard of this story before, that I know of. It seems to be an Irish Legend or folktale retold here. I enjoyed this story because it was such a different kind of Christmas book. It’s not about Santa or most of the normal Christmas things and it has fairies in it, so I love that. (side note, I love fairies so much, that at one time I considered changing my last name to Lafae. My friend told me I was pretentious and it’s true, so I decided against it)
We start out with a band of tinkers going through a village and leaving a baby for a family to raise named Oona. Oona is super sweet and dreams of having her own cabin someday. Her brother inherits her parent’s home, so Oona travels from home to home helping out those in need. One snowy Christmas eve the food runs out and so Oona is out in the cold sleeping under a Blackthrone bush. The fairies bless her and she finally gets her cabin. The legend is set up so that Oona still helps people on a snowy Christmas night.
I actually love this story. I think it’s a great spirit of giving story. Oona is a strong woman and she endures terrible things like cold and hunger. She always puts other people first. She is the very spirit of Christmas giving. Santa goes out into the world and Oona lets those in need find her. It’s two sides of the same coin really.
The nephew felt sort of bad for Oona and not having a place. He thought the fairies were cute in this book and he responded to the ending. He thought it was a good story and gave this 3 stars. Speaking of the nephew. He has a real attitude at the moment and I keep telling him he is going to get coal in his stocking if he doesn’t behave better, but he doesn’t believe me. He won’t get coal, but he is a hot mess right now. He knows he will get presents.
We start out with a band of tinkers going through a village and leaving a baby for a family to raise named Oona. Oona is super sweet and dreams of having her own cabin someday. Her brother inherits her parent’s home, so Oona travels from home to home helping out those in need. One snowy Christmas eve the food runs out and so Oona is out in the cold sleeping under a Blackthrone bush. The fairies bless her and she finally gets her cabin. The legend is set up so that Oona still helps people on a snowy Christmas night.
I actually love this story. I think it’s a great spirit of giving story. Oona is a strong woman and she endures terrible things like cold and hunger. She always puts other people first. She is the very spirit of Christmas giving. Santa goes out into the world and Oona lets those in need find her. It’s two sides of the same coin really.
The nephew felt sort of bad for Oona and not having a place. He thought the fairies were cute in this book and he responded to the ending. He thought it was a good story and gave this 3 stars. Speaking of the nephew. He has a real attitude at the moment and I keep telling him he is going to get coal in his stocking if he doesn’t behave better, but he doesn’t believe me. He won’t get coal, but he is a hot mess right now. He knows he will get presents.
November 29, 2018
Based upon Ruth Sawyer's classic holiday tale,
The Wee Christmas Cabin of Carn-na-ween
, first published in 1941 as part of her collection,
The Long Christmas
, this lovely picture-book follows the story of Oona, a "tinker's child" who is left on the doorstep of an Irish farm couple, late one night. Raised as the couple's own child, Oona grows into a beautiful, kindhearted young woman. But despite her many virtues, none of the lads will marry her - being a "tinker's child" - and so Oona begins a long life of service to others, moving from house to house, as the need arises, caring for the sick, the young, and the elderly. Then the Great Famine strikes, and Oona finds that, in this time of terrible hunger, there is no room in any home for another mouth to feed. Worn out, and grown old, she wanders off one snowy Christmas Eve night, settling under a blackthorn bush, and preparing to die. But the fairies, having long observed her blameless life of kindness, have other plans...
A poignant holiday tale, set during a very dark time in Irish history, The Wee Christmas Cabin emphasizes one of the most important aspects of Christmas - the spirit of giving - and has the feeling almost of a saint's tale. It's not clear to me, from reading Hodges' adaptation, whether Sawyer's 1941 story was an original selection, or was taken from folklore, but I am eager to track it down, read "the whole thing," and see how it compares to this more modern version. Leaving aside issues of adaptation, I would say that the narrative here is very effective, communicating Oona's longing for her own wee cabin, and the enchantment of her wish's fulfillment. The watercolor illustrations, by Kimberly Bulcken Root, complement the tale perfectly - I particularly liked the two-page spread in which Oona sleeps under the blackthorn bush! All in all, a lovely holiday book, recommended to young readers who enjoy magical holiday stories, or tales set in Ireland.
A poignant holiday tale, set during a very dark time in Irish history, The Wee Christmas Cabin emphasizes one of the most important aspects of Christmas - the spirit of giving - and has the feeling almost of a saint's tale. It's not clear to me, from reading Hodges' adaptation, whether Sawyer's 1941 story was an original selection, or was taken from folklore, but I am eager to track it down, read "the whole thing," and see how it compares to this more modern version. Leaving aside issues of adaptation, I would say that the narrative here is very effective, communicating Oona's longing for her own wee cabin, and the enchantment of her wish's fulfillment. The watercolor illustrations, by Kimberly Bulcken Root, complement the tale perfectly - I particularly liked the two-page spread in which Oona sleeps under the blackthorn bush! All in all, a lovely holiday book, recommended to young readers who enjoy magical holiday stories, or tales set in Ireland.
Read
February 9, 2021Compare to The Wee Christmas Cabin of Carn-na-ween
---------
Well, I read this on openlibrary.org. I'll look again for it it as a dtb in libraries. As best as I can tell, I agree with Michael Fitzgerald's review that the original is better.
So far as the story itself, as told by Hodges, it seems to be lacking a bit. Why did the fairies realize that Oona was worthy of their labors, considering fairies, esp. Irish ones, are generally quite selfish? Why did the illustrator make it plain that poor people shouldn't have so many children? Why wouldn't any of the young men marry a tinker's child? Iirc, Sawyer's version makes more sense of those details.
Meanwhile, know that Hodges has done some excellent work, esp. in those illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. Too bad this isn't up to par.
---
finally found a dtb... the art is better on paper than scanned (not surprising). But still, I'd read the Sawyer version if I were you. If you read either... do you like sentimental Irish folktales? If not, skip this.
---------
Well, I read this on openlibrary.org. I'll look again for it it as a dtb in libraries. As best as I can tell, I agree with Michael Fitzgerald's review that the original is better.
So far as the story itself, as told by Hodges, it seems to be lacking a bit. Why did the fairies realize that Oona was worthy of their labors, considering fairies, esp. Irish ones, are generally quite selfish? Why did the illustrator make it plain that poor people shouldn't have so many children? Why wouldn't any of the young men marry a tinker's child? Iirc, Sawyer's version makes more sense of those details.
Meanwhile, know that Hodges has done some excellent work, esp. in those illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. Too bad this isn't up to par.
---
finally found a dtb... the art is better on paper than scanned (not surprising). But still, I'd read the Sawyer version if I were you. If you read either... do you like sentimental Irish folktales? If not, skip this.
January 17, 2012
What an enchanting story! Margaret Hodges retells the traditional Irish tale of Oona, who has no home, moving from family to family, wherever she is needed. She dreams of having her own cabin one day. Then comes the Great Famine, and Oona knows that she can't be a burden to the family she is with when food is scarce, so she sets out in the snow on Christmas Eve. What happens then is a wonderful Christmas miracle. Kimberly Bulcken Root's soft illustrations lend an atmosphere of magic and enchantment to the story--so beautiful! I wish I'd had this one to read on Christmas Eve. I've got to add this title to my personal collection. Highly recommended!
December 23, 2019
Unfortunately, this version pales dreadfully in comparison with the Ruth Sawyer original (a retelling itself). In addition to the 1941 collection The Long Christmas where it first appeared, there is a 2005 picture book that preserves Sawyer's words and adds lovely illustrations as well: The Wee Christmas Cabin of Carn-na-ween. That book is far superior to this one.
Alas, in condensing this to something around just 14 pages of text, Hodges has stripped it of all its glorious beauty of language, its humorous characteristic expressions, and many interesting details. What remains is not a bad story, and the illustrations are merely okay - but why bother with this at all when one can have the real thing? Perhaps it needs to wait until listeners have grown a few years older, but that's perfectly fine. No need to rush things.
One thing I'm not understanding is how the text is copyright 2009 by Margaret Hodges, when she died in 2005.
Alas, in condensing this to something around just 14 pages of text, Hodges has stripped it of all its glorious beauty of language, its humorous characteristic expressions, and many interesting details. What remains is not a bad story, and the illustrations are merely okay - but why bother with this at all when one can have the real thing? Perhaps it needs to wait until listeners have grown a few years older, but that's perfectly fine. No need to rush things.
One thing I'm not understanding is how the text is copyright 2009 by Margaret Hodges, when she died in 2005.
February 1, 2011
Margaret Hodges retells Ruth Sawyer's "The Wee Christmas Cabin of Carn-na-Ween"--a story well worth the visit. A foundling is raised by a kindly couple. As she grows and becomes an adult there are many slights to which she could take offense, many opportunities to hold a grudge or blame and complain. She remains cheerful and positive and makes the best of her circumstances and finally wishes only to bless others as she has been miraculously blessed. There is an element of fae folk in the story which may bother some readers but certainly not me. For those that attribute some magic to this season this story, though a bit long in the telling, will be a welcome addition to the season's readings.
December 16, 2009
Maybe it's just because this Irish folk story isn't familiar to me or that I'm not a real fan of fairy stories, but this was a disappointing read. There were far too many words and not enough visually for my son to be interested in it, so I doubt we'll read it again. I did really enjoy the beautiful character of Oona and her generous and faithful heart, however. Probably more of a "girl" story than for a rough and tumble preschool boy.
June 21, 2011
In this delightful Irish tale we learn of someone generous enough to give to others her whole life with little in return until one cold, snowy Christmas Eve. You don’t have to be a child to enjoy this story and the emphasis on “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
November 28, 2014
"You never can tell," she would say. "I may yet have a wee cabin of my own someday. I'm not saying how, and I'm not saying when." <3
December 22, 2015
I only got this book a couple of years ago, I think. It's heart-warming and precious with well-drawn pictures. I imagine I'll be reading this one at Christmastime for many years to come.
October 10, 2018
A nice story based on a traditional tale, but Peter Collington does something similar in A Small Miracle and I think better.
April 12, 2023
For joy, this picture book has a quote by Yeats on the copyright page:
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there...."
What a lovely way to start this book!
FUN FACT about William Butler Yeats will be in a COMMENT below.
Back to this Irish tale...
Ooh, fairies lived under a thornbush. (I'm guessing the place where this story occurs is just a tad different from where I grew up in Flushing, Queens. A perfectly fine, New Yorkish, place to grow up, but nary a fairy.)
Sadly, fairies or no fairies: That poor Oona, the heroine, didn't have much of a childhood. Nor much of an adulthood, either. But then???
Oh, when all the fairies appeared, that's when I teared up
If bright blue snowflakes could have streamed out of my eyes, that would have better reflected my mood. But good old regular human-type tears had to do.
"All things shall find their rightful places at last."
Now there's a quote worth remembering.
And illustrations worth turning to time and again.
And for sure, a picture book that deserves FIVE STARS.
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there...."
What a lovely way to start this book!
FUN FACT about William Butler Yeats will be in a COMMENT below.
Back to this Irish tale...
Ooh, fairies lived under a thornbush. (I'm guessing the place where this story occurs is just a tad different from where I grew up in Flushing, Queens. A perfectly fine, New Yorkish, place to grow up, but nary a fairy.)
Sadly, fairies or no fairies: That poor Oona, the heroine, didn't have much of a childhood. Nor much of an adulthood, either. But then???
Oh, when all the fairies appeared, that's when I teared up
If bright blue snowflakes could have streamed out of my eyes, that would have better reflected my mood. But good old regular human-type tears had to do.
"All things shall find their rightful places at last."
Now there's a quote worth remembering.
And illustrations worth turning to time and again.
And for sure, a picture book that deserves FIVE STARS.
December 18, 2021
I enjoyed this book but found it to be quite sad.
Note: I am not sure a picture book review needs a spoiler alert, but if you want to keep the story a surprise, read no further.
A baby girl -- Oona -- is left on the windowsill of a couple who seem to lovingly raise her. But then they die and leave their cabin to their son. That leaves Oona to travel from cabin to cabin in the village. She goes wherever she is needed but once her usefulness runs out, she is back to looking for a new place to stay. As an old woman on a cold Christmas Eve, she falls asleep under a bush and
I'm not sure my 8-year-old grasped what happened to Oona at the end, but in mind, this didn't have a particularly happy ending.
Note: I am not sure a picture book review needs a spoiler alert, but if you want to keep the story a surprise, read no further.
A baby girl -- Oona -- is left on the windowsill of a couple who seem to lovingly raise her. But then they die and leave their cabin to their son. That leaves Oona to travel from cabin to cabin in the village. She goes wherever she is needed but once her usefulness runs out, she is back to looking for a new place to stay. As an old woman on a cold Christmas Eve, she falls asleep under a bush and
I'm not sure my 8-year-old grasped what happened to Oona at the end, but in mind, this didn't have a particularly happy ending.
December 28, 2020
A lovely and magical Christmas folk tale.
January 3, 2021
Interesting picture book. Magical and sweet. I’m curious about the version written by Sawyer.
September 30, 2022
It was fine.
December 6, 2023
An Irish folk story, sad, mysterious, magical.
December 19, 2016
Great book for kids and adults alike. This was a sweet little Christmas story which shows the power of doing good and that you reap what you sew. Loved the illustrations as well. I would highly recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews