The First Christmas Stocking
*Starred Review* Set in a coal-mining town, "long, long ago," this is the story of Claire, who lives with her father, a miner, and her mother, who knits for the town's richer residents. Claire learns the craft, and when her mother dies, she carries on. Two days before Christmas, a wealthy woman orders three pairs of stockings. With little light for warmth or seeing, Claire is unsure she can finish, but she does--only to give five of the stockings to a raggedy boy, who, like Claire, understands what it is like never to be warm. Her furious customer refuses the sixth stocking, which Claire hangs up; the next morning it is filled with gifts, including candles that don't go out. This sentimental story is wrapped in a handsome package--a tall, slim format that provides plenty of space for the dreamy, full-page colored-pencil pictures. It's never clear why the successful knitting business doesn't generate enough income for better indoor light, but such details won't deter children caught up in this Christmas miracle.Ilene CooperCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved