A Farm Country Christmas Eve.

A Farm Country Christmas Eve

Gordon W. Frederickson

Illustrated by Michaelin Otis

Beaver's Pond Press

7104 Ohms Lane, Suite 101, Edina, MN 55439-2129

www.BeaversPondPress.com

9781592982530, $17.95, www.amazon.com

"A Farm Country Christmas" is a charming children's and adults' Christmas story based on the author's memory of his childhood on a farm near New Prague, Minnesota, in eastern Scott County. The story starts on Christmas eve in 1950 with a hardworking farm family of five; Mags, Joe, Gordon, and Mother and Father. The farm family must complete all their usual milking and barn chores first so Santa can visit the farmhouse and leave their presents unseen. To help Santa in his job, the father will open the grain bin to give some grain to Santa's hungry reindeer. The children have special tasks to do to help with the barn chores and even younger brother Joe is taught to entice a new calf to drink milk from a bucket by using his two fingers dipped in milk for the calf to suck on. Barn cats are given stray squirts of fresh milk and the whole family celebrates the gift of a new Christmas calf they name Pearl. The value of each member of the family helping with the chores to the best of their ability is carefully underlined.

The tale is told in quaint rhyming couplets and colorful nostalgic but realistic illustrations bring the farm scenes and memories to life. At the end of the evening's chores, a wonderful surprise awaits the children in the house. Before they can go to the living room, the children carefully wash up with soap and water in the comfortable old kitchen with a one basin sink and white footed wood stove. Wondrous gifts of a new sled, tractor, and dolly with fine yellow hair have already been glimpsed under the tree, but the final confirming detail for Gordon is the kernels of oats left on the sled. His father explains, "If you listen, I'll tell you ;what happened right here./ First Santa fed oats to eight hungry reindeer./ Then he left the doors open to run to his sleigh,/ And the reindeer and Santa all hurried away (p. 25)."

"A Farm Country Christmas Eve" is a lovely children's book that will touch and turn the memories of many adults who read it and also share those memories. Added realisticdetails include a map of the farm family area plus a diagram of the family farm homestead layout. Recommended for ages 6 and up.