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Christmas Without Johnny
A Christmas story about a shy 9-year-old boy.
- GenresChristmas
230 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1950
4 people want to read
About the author
Gladys Hasty Carroll
29 books4 followersGladys Hasty Carroll (June 26, 1904 – April 1, 1999) was an American novelist active from the late 1920s into the 1980s.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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March 25, 2016This book is about a boy named Johnny, who is 5 years old. There is a thing about him that you should know, that is he is very skinny and does not eat much.His family and him moved recently to a new location, he was sad to leave the farm that they had.One day some man came over to introudce himself to the new family and to invite them to another church that they once went to. When Sunday came they went to the church that the friendly man suggested, when they opened the doors, they were greeted warmly by him. He took Johnny with him to the Sunday school that was held down stairs, and introduced him to a Sunday school teacher, that he will be with at the church. When all the Sunday school boys were there they made their way to the church where they were having church service. They sang songs, then ended the service and left the church to go home. Days passed and passed.He missed the teacher at Sunday School, and the man.
One day when the teacher was counting money for something, she left the room to give an envelope to another teacher, and she did leave the door. But when she got back fifty cents were gone.They made a big deal out of it because no one would tell her who took it. And so when she said everyone to put their heads down Johnny went up and put a dime there because he wanted to help.He thought if four people gave one dime each they could spare. That night the teacher talked to Johnny’s parents about it. The next day Johnny spilled on his new sweater and so he took it off and was told not to go outside. But when it was time to go outside Johnny raised his hand, but the teacher ignored him,so he found himself outside where he was not suppose to be sitting on a rock. Another teacher was leaving , and he saw something dropped from the car. Right when the bell rung, Johnny picked up the thing that fell, and was running to the car. When it was a red light he catched up and yelled to the man telling him he dropped something. He saw and said thank you because without it he would have to repair and, his wife would have gotten mad that he is late. In return he gave Johnny five dollars! Johnny felt he should not return to school or home, so Johnny just started running, until he came upon a world that looked like a toy land. So he opened some great big doors and wondered what the place was. Then he just hears someone saying if he was hungry or not. The geni listed a whole bunch of yummy food that they had. And so Johnny asked for a hot dog and some hot chocolate. And the geni says a dinner for a prince.
When he got his food he told the geni that he was not a prince, so the geni told him where was the money and how could you come up with money such as that. Johnny said you know. The geni said the fella gave it to you. He also asks to see, so Johnny gave him the five dollar bill, and the geni took it, when he came back he gave Johnny four dollars fifty cents and a quarter, then he left. He came back and told Johnny he will go to the Answer Man now. When the Answer Man came Johnny saw a red flower in his pocket and asked if there were more, so the Answer Man took him to the flowers, that’s when Johnny started getting presents for his family, friends, and even teachers, because Christmas was today. Meanwhile back at home everyone was trying to find Johnny and was wondering why would he run away. Back to where Johnny was he saw the man that gave him five dollars, and asked what he was doing here, the man was getting gifts for friends and family also. Johnny was getting sleepy and it was growing dark outside too, so the man told the Answer Man that he could take Johnny home. In the car the man was trying to talk to Johnny but he fell asleep. The man had to stop at the school first so when he arrived there was Johnny’s parents there.He asked what was going on and they said that Johnny ran away. So he took them outside and they looked in the car and saw Johnny, so the next day the school will do whatever he wants to do.
One day when the teacher was counting money for something, she left the room to give an envelope to another teacher, and she did leave the door. But when she got back fifty cents were gone.They made a big deal out of it because no one would tell her who took it. And so when she said everyone to put their heads down Johnny went up and put a dime there because he wanted to help.He thought if four people gave one dime each they could spare. That night the teacher talked to Johnny’s parents about it. The next day Johnny spilled on his new sweater and so he took it off and was told not to go outside. But when it was time to go outside Johnny raised his hand, but the teacher ignored him,so he found himself outside where he was not suppose to be sitting on a rock. Another teacher was leaving , and he saw something dropped from the car. Right when the bell rung, Johnny picked up the thing that fell, and was running to the car. When it was a red light he catched up and yelled to the man telling him he dropped something. He saw and said thank you because without it he would have to repair and, his wife would have gotten mad that he is late. In return he gave Johnny five dollars! Johnny felt he should not return to school or home, so Johnny just started running, until he came upon a world that looked like a toy land. So he opened some great big doors and wondered what the place was. Then he just hears someone saying if he was hungry or not. The geni listed a whole bunch of yummy food that they had. And so Johnny asked for a hot dog and some hot chocolate. And the geni says a dinner for a prince.
When he got his food he told the geni that he was not a prince, so the geni told him where was the money and how could you come up with money such as that. Johnny said you know. The geni said the fella gave it to you. He also asks to see, so Johnny gave him the five dollar bill, and the geni took it, when he came back he gave Johnny four dollars fifty cents and a quarter, then he left. He came back and told Johnny he will go to the Answer Man now. When the Answer Man came Johnny saw a red flower in his pocket and asked if there were more, so the Answer Man took him to the flowers, that’s when Johnny started getting presents for his family, friends, and even teachers, because Christmas was today. Meanwhile back at home everyone was trying to find Johnny and was wondering why would he run away. Back to where Johnny was he saw the man that gave him five dollars, and asked what he was doing here, the man was getting gifts for friends and family also. Johnny was getting sleepy and it was growing dark outside too, so the man told the Answer Man that he could take Johnny home. In the car the man was trying to talk to Johnny but he fell asleep. The man had to stop at the school first so when he arrived there was Johnny’s parents there.He asked what was going on and they said that Johnny ran away. So he took them outside and they looked in the car and saw Johnny, so the next day the school will do whatever he wants to do.
December 17, 2020
I had several issues with this story. In fact, I had to keep reminding myself that the book is from the 1950s, a time when children were treated differently than today. This boy, Johnny, was bullied by his friends, his teachers and his own parents, at times. I honestly wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who can't understand how things worked 70 years ago.
December 22, 2014
Rather dated, which I would expect from a book written in the 1950s. Also rather a strange ending, but overall I enjoyed the book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews