The Mice, the Monks and the Christmas Tree

by George Selden, Jan Balet (Illustrator)

Illustrated by Jan Balet. The monks of St. Patrick's Monastery have been so busy taking Christmas to the poor that by the time Midnight Mass rolls around there is no time to bring in a tree. In all the history of the monastery this tragedy has never happened before! So the original pet mice of the founding abbot, "Father Patrick Mulvaney Gilhooley O'Toole (who was Irish)," Pat and Mary, and their hundreds of descendants take on the adventurous task of rounding up a Christmas tree and all the trimmings before the monks wake up on Christmas Morn.

Genres: Picture Books

33 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

George Selden (1929-1989) was the author of The Cricket in Times Square, winner of the 1961 Newbery Honor and a timeless children's classic. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Selden received his B.A. from Yale, where he was a member of the Elizabethan Club and contributed to the literary magazine. He spent three summer sessions at Columbia University and, after college, studied for a year in Rome on a Fulbright Scholarship.

People often asked Selden how he got the idea for The Cricket in Times Square. "One night I was coming home on the subway, and I did hear a cricket chirp in the Times Square subway station. The story formed in my mind within minutes. An author is very thankful for minutes like those, although they happen all too infrequently." The popular Cricket series grew to seven titles, including Tucker's Countryside and The Old Meadow. In 1973, The Cricket in Times Square was made into an animated film. Selden wrote more than fifteen books, as well as two plays. His storytelling blends the marvelous with the commonplace realities of life, and it was essential to him that his animal characters display true emotions and feelings.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...

Reviews

[Ivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is rather slight material, though still charming. I'm a big fan of George Selden's work.