The Legend of the Christmas Rose

My seven year old daughter loves this and just did a book report on it. An interesting, somewhat complex storyline with magnificant illustrations throughout. There are definitely religious themes herein, all within the historical context of medieval Sweden. Higly recomended.

This is a Swedish legend that explains the origin of the flower known as the Christmas Rose. Lagerlöf was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize for literature in 1909. This legend, retold by Ellin Greene, originally appeared in a magazine in 1907. The illustrations are beautiful. They capture the emotions of the characters splendidly. The story is not too long for advanced second graders to read in a single sit-ting. Younger children will be able to listen to it. Several times however the layout alternates from a two-page spread of text to a two-page illustration. The text pages can appear overwhelming for young readers, and because there is not an illustration on every page, it can be cumbersome to use in a read-aloud. The story does, of course, have a mention of the Christ Child and central characters include a Bishop, Abbot and lay priest. There is no attempt to influence the reader on behalf of the Christian faith however. Still, it may create some difficulties in a public school classroom. A well-written and illustrated legend, it is a shame the design features make it less appealing and it may create some trouble in a public school classroom.Why 4 stars?:This is a nice story, but has some logistical design flaws. The illustrations are well suited and many children will most likely enjoy it. However, the subject material may not always be accepted in a public school classroom.