CHRISTMAS IN MATHESON COVE
by: Brenda Kay Ledford
Book Review by: Carroll S. Taylor-poet, author, and playwright
It's Christmas in Matheson Cove, North Carolina, and snow on Shewbird Mountain adds to the excitement of the season. For Bob and Minnie Ledford's eight children, joyful holiday expectations are running high, but uncertain, in this charming picture book written by author and poet, Brenda Kay Ledford.
The story unfolds on Christmas Eve in 1931 during the Great Depression, when kids hung their stockings and were grateful to receive candy, fruit, and nuts on Christmas morning if they were lucky. Times were hard, and families celebrated the best way they could.
Bob is disheartened. His hunting trip in the snow with his dog Old Rover on Shewbird Mountain yields no wild game. He returns home, hangs his coat on a nail, and tells Minnie that he can't afford presents, not even a stick of peppermint candy. "I ain't got no money..."
He believes that hanging the children's stockings is a waste of time. Minnie reminds him, "Money don't matter. It's our love that makes Christmas." And she encourages him by saying, "God will provide."
Bob and Minnie hang the children's stockings anyway, hoping for a miracle. Leave it up to the older Ledford boys to make that surprise miracle happen.
Ledford's book is beautifully illustrated by the artistic design of North Carolina native Doreyl Ammons Cain. All illustrations in the First Edition are original with vivid colors that Cain created with pastels. The book's front cover, with snow and evergreen trees, creates a festive scene inviting readers to enter the story.
Ledford includes seemingly small details--like kernels of corn accidentally dropped by the boys along a snowy path--for a reason. Young cornstalks in the spring will remind Minnie and readers later in the story of how Christmas blessings happen all throughout the year. The effects of the boys' miracle don't happen just once but continue in unexpected ways.
Ledford is a seventh generation native of Clay County, North Carolina. Christmas in Matheson Cove describes one holiday her family spent during the Great Depression. "The parents had no money for presents, but the children figured out a plan to provide gifts for the family."
Ledford reminds readers that acts of love are miracles that show the true meaning of Christmas, and her historical story is one that is certainly worth passing down to future generations.
Christmas in Matheson Cove was published by Catch the Spirit of Appalachia, an imprint of Ammons Communications. The book is available online at: sharingspokenstories.com/shop/ols/products/christmas-in-matheson-cove.
1 comment:
Just want you to know that after reading Carroll Taylor's amazing book review, I ordered three books to begin my Christmas shopping. I really believe that children should be exposed to good books with morals. This book certainly meets my expectations. BVLW
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