PICTURE BOOK - Grandfather's Christmas Tree by Keith Strand

Illustrated by Thomas Locker

1999, Silver Whistle, Harcourt Brace & Co.

Looks to be out of print

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.06 * 35 ratings

My rating:  4

Endpapers:  Evergreen with gray fir sprills.

1^st line/s:  "My mother and father came to Colorado in May of 1886."

My comments:  Thomas Locker's illustrations drew me this book...and the story, though long-ish for a picture book, is simple.  It tells how a family tradition (placing a hand-carved set of geese into the boughs of their huge outdoor spruce) of this Colorado family began.  It's not about Christmas, or gifts, it's about survival and family love.

Goodreads:  Beginning their life together in the Colorado wilderness, a young rancher and his wife work hard, and joyfully anticipate the birth of their first child. Their many hopes and dreams for their new family are suddenly put in danger when a merciless winter storm hits. The logs in the woodpile quickly dwindle, and soon their only chance for survival is to cut down the lone remaining spruce tree, which provides warmth and shelter to a family of geese--a family not unlike their own. On Christmas Eve the couple prays for a miracle that will protect them and their newborn son. Thomas Locker's glorious paintings and Keith Strand's inspiring reverie bring the Christmas spirit to life in this heartwarming story of faith and family.