The Christmas Tree: Two Tales for the Holidays

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

“Carmichael’s Dog,” the first of the two delightful Christmas
tales in this book, tells how two young, naive brothers, on their way
home from sledding on a day “when the snow beckoned,” come upon a
small, black puppy. Even the knowledge that curmudgeonly Mr. Carmichael
has lost just such a puppy doesn’t deter them from sneaking the dog
through the back door and up to their room. They want to give it to
their mother as a Christmas gift. But when a police car with Mr.
Carmichael and Constable Fisher shows up, the boys quickly grab the
puppy, intending to return it from whence it came. However, their escape
is not to be. Suffice it to say that the boys, the puppy, and mother
live together “happily ever after”—for the next 15 years, at
least.

“The Christmas Tree,” draws readers back to a time when artificial
trees were a rarity and only city folks bought their tree at the Boy
Scouts’ lot on the corner. The proper way to get a Christmas tree was
to go out in the woods, chop one down, and drag it home yourself. For
the brothers in this story, however, a local tree just won’t do. So,
after playing a game of road hockey, they head out to North Pole and
Christmas Mountain, some 80 miles away, accompanied by a small boy who,
it turns out, no one knows—also reminiscent of a much earlier and
safer time. The perfect tree is soon found, but no one has thought to
bring an axe. As they journey home, treeless, they discuss their
options, which include cutting the pine in the backyard. But that is
quickly dismissed when their young passenger witnesses an astonishing
sight—a tree “just fell out of the sky!”

Children and adults alike will find these gentle, humorous tales
appealing. Younger audiences will find the “surprise” ending of
“Carmichael’s Dog” particularly satisfying. Vince McIndoe’s
illustrations add to the stories’ enjoyment. He even got the 1961
Chevrolet Impala just right. Recommended.