FICTION

An Invisible Thread Christmas Story

by Alex Tresniowski
SCHROFF, Laura & . illus. by Barry Root. 32p. ebook available. S. & S./Little Simon. 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781481419307.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 2—Based on Schroff's best-selling book, An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny (Howard Bks, 2011), this picture book encapsulates the friendship that grew between a young working woman and a hungry boy on the streets of New York City. The boy, Maurice, narrates the tale of their meeting, sharing Monday night meals together, and eventually spending Christmas together—the first "real" Christmas Maurice ever had. The story never tries to hide the fact that it is message-driven, and everything is cheery and wonderful. Root's illustrations aptly convey the action as the tale unfolds. Inspiring notes from both the real-life Laura and the now-grown Maurice follow the uplifting account. A further bonus is included in the form of a guide for parents on teaching their children to perform acts of kindness.
VERDICT There is apt to be a large audience for this one.
Reviewed by Linda Israelson, Los Angeles Public Library
Young African American Maurice is asking for spare change on the street when he meets Laura, an adult white woman who takes him to lunch, then dinner every Monday, and then to her family home for Christmas. What Maurice's family thinks of all this is not revealed, but one senses little reality in this "true story" drawn from Schroff's adult memoir. The illustrations portray much smiling.
 , Oct 01, 2015

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