Betty's Books: Toy Boat & The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

New Favorite: Toy Boat, by Randall DeSeve; illustrations by Loren Long (Philomel Books, 2007)

I'd say this is a classic in the making. Out of a can, a cork, a yellow pencil and some white cloth, a boy crafts a toy boat. As tends to happen when something from nothing is created, a special bond between artist and object forms. Much like he would a beloved teddy bear, the boy takes the boat everywhere he goes — into the bathtub, into bed, and to the lake where he attaches it to his hand with a string before he lets it set sail.

The toy boat’s adventure begins when in stormy weather the water gets choppy and it is cut loose from the boy’s protective hold to venture alone.

At first, trauma ensues for the little toy boat. He (almost) smashes into a dilapidated tugboat, a ferocious ferry, and an evil speedboat. And the little boat is nearly overtaken by a fleet of large sailboats. But after a night adrift, the scared and lonely little boat finds himself next to a humble fishing boat. Catching a breeze on what has become a balmy day, he sails on alone and grows deliriously happy about his new-found ability.

When reunited with the boy, the two resume their old habits of sleeping and bathing together. Now, though, on their visits to the lake, the boy "every so often" lets go of the string.

What grandparent can’t recall how hard it is to let go of what is loved, while understanding the need for freedom and room to grow? This is a parent-child story that touches the soul. While the publisher suggests this book for 4- to 8-year-olds, this beautifully-illustrated, simple story will resonate with their parents and grandparents, too.

Christmas Classics

There's no shortage of holiday classics. But which one tops the list? Often, our selections have to do with the memories they evoke. The first to pop to mind was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. After my dad got his hands on one of the originals as a Montgomery Ward giveaway (a store my kids never even heard of), a yearly tradition of reading it to us on Christmas Eve began.

Then there's the Clement Clarke Moore classic The Night Before Christmas. How could you not love that? And who doesn’t tear up at the words “Grinch’s heart grew two sizes that day” from my kids' favorite How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Even Betty Crocker's Cooky Book made my list. After arriving each Christmas, my grandmother would gather all the grandchildren around to help her bake treats using recipes from the book — Russian teacakes, candy-cane cookies and sugar cookies frosted bright red and green and topped with sprinkles — to showcase at our Night-Before-Christmas Open House.

With all those warm memories of holiday books, my ultimate choice may surprise you: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. A recent entry into the classics category (1972), it's a simple but thoroughly capricious tale of how the worst kids “in the history of the world” breathe new life into the Christmas story and, in doing so, reawaken the day's true meaning in their community.

The six Herdman kids swear, cheat, lie, steal, and terrorize their way through most of the book. They're the kind of kids parents do everything possible to keep away from their own children. When, through a fluke, they become the stars of the parish Christmas pageant, everyone in town is not only stunned but scared stiff. And with good reason: The Herdmans, who had never been inside a church or even seen a Bible, were hearing the story of the Nativity for the first time. All they’d known about Christmas before was “how to make ornaments out of aluminum foil.”

So, they asked questions. What finally happened to Herod, that rat who wanted the Wise Men to turn Jesus in so he could do away with the new-born baby? What was wrong with those Wise Men, who brought oils instead of presents the family could really use? And how could Mary, having delivered Jesus at such a young age, be so calm?

In this way, the Herdman children give us a fresh perspective on the traditional Christmas story, making this age-old account of the birth of Jesus new, real, and deeply touching. Perhaps Gladys, the youngest of the Herdman clan who plays the Angel of the Lord in dirty sneakers and a scruffy, oversize bath robe, captured the feeling best when she yelled at the audience: “Hey! Unto you a child is born.”

Oh, one last grandparent holiday thought. Search online for The New York Sun column titled "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus" (September 1897). Be sure and read this to your grandchildren as you tuck them in (or call) on Christmas Eve.

You know the story. Eight-year-old Virginia writes the newspaper editor because her friends are telling her there is no Santa Claus. And because her dad had said, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so” (wow, how times have changed), she asks the editor if Santa Claus is real or not.

The response is, of course, one of the most famous in history. Each sentence is almost a masterpiece unto itself. Let me end with my favorite lines:

“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias.”