A Visit from Mr. Lucifer

Jerry McDonnell was a teacher and librarian the F.E. Madill Secondary School in Wingham, Ontario.

This is a welcome addition to the literature about growing up on the Canadian prairies. Bobby and Pat Cameron were eight and six in 1946, when their father, a World War II veteran, moved the family from an apartment in Red Deer to a farm. City comforts were gone but they all learned to cope and eventually to enjoy the life. The boys were thrown on their own resources but were supported by a warm, loving family as well as by neighbours. There seemed to be few really major traumas in their lives.

The novel relates many experiences, some gently humourous (such as the visits from the refined Reverend Hittle, who had great ambitions to move up to a more prestigious parish). “The Christmas Dollar” illustrates how the nursing of anger and hatred and a sense of injustice can sour the life of the offending party. We are relieved that these feelings cannot be sustained through the entire Christmas season. The threat in the title story is gentle and does not permanently scar the family.

This book, filled with warm and gentle humour, is an affirmation of the human spirit and the positive side of growing to maturity. It could be used as supplementary reading in grades seven to ten or even as a main text, but it would also be enjoyed by adults.