#1226 in our old book database. Rated: Indifferent.

My wife loves this book and the Jim Henson adaptation, and I've tried it a couple times now, but I just don't get what she sees. It's almost an interesting tribute to "The Gift of the Magi" but the gift exchange is darker, with the present recipient's property being gambled instead of the present giver's. The mother and son characters are very flat and the story gets wordy at times as they both have to hear about the talent show separately and make their own plans for entering.

Sorry, honey, I just gotta be a Scrooge on this one. Bah, humbug! ( )

I didn't know the beloved TV special was based on a book. The book is beautifully illustrated, too. ( )

Russell and Lillian Hoban, the author/illustrator team behind that classic early reader series devoted to the doings of Frances the Badger, here turn their attention to Christmas, spinning the tale of Emmet Otter and his mother, a hardworking washer woman. With father and husband gone, the pair eke out a living in Frogtown Hollow, but find that the year just past has been harder than most. Each wants to give the other a beautiful Christmas present, but isn't sure how it can be accomplished. Then they learn of the fifty dollars prize money being offered for the winner of the talent show being put on by the Merchant's Association, and each vows that they will enter...

Having greatly enjoyed this duo's previous Christmas story, The Mole Family's Christmas, I was eager to pick up Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas. Unfortunately, although I did find it engaging, it was a little sadder than that other tale, which is not unreasonable given the poverty experienced by Emmet and his mother, but which made it a little too melancholy for my taste this holiday season, despite the happy ending. Apparently this story was made into a film by Jim Henson, but unlike so many other reviewers, I never saw it, so I approached it with no preconceptions. I did see some parallels with O. Henry's classic story, The Gift of the Magi, in which two people sacrificed their most prized possession to buy the other a Christmas present, although tellingly, given the Hoban's sense of humor, here what is sacrificed is the other person's possession! Recommended to fans of the Hobans, fans of the film, and anyone seeking children's Christmas stories addressing the realities of poverty. ( )

I dunno. It's sweet, but I guess I'm just feeling too cynical this year for Christmas stories. And to think they miss the dad, an admitted snake-oil salesman. I'm sorry, but by definition he's a bad guy. That's a theme too complex for the rest of the story, imo.

I do like the little bit where mother & son leave notes for each other at the same time, and neither sees them - funny. Not for tots - long, with sad bits. But there's a happy ending that is almost plausible.

Btw, it's *not* a retelling of O'Henry's Gift of the Magi!! In that story each character made an ultimate *personal* sacrifice - in this story Ma sold Emmet's toolbox, and Emmet ruined Ma's washtub - if there weren't a happy ending, they would have been screwed. O'Henry's characters would have been saddened. Whole different theme! ( )

The plot has something in common with O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi, but with enough twists that it is much more than just a "children's version". Family, friends, music -- and the story is all about animals who live in a swamp. It's a story with a message that is never heavy-handed. ( )