Christmas with Ida Early

Ida Early

by Robert Burch

Vintage book

Genres: Christmas, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Holiday, Juvenile

159 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 1983

About the author

Robert Joseph Burch (June 25, 1925 – December 25, 2007) was an American writer of 19 children's books whose readers are "usually young adolescents". Many of his stories are based on his childhood experiences in rural Georgia during the Great Depression. He was born in Fayette County, Georgia, and spent the majority of his life there.

Reviews

[Katherine Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so happy to find this sequel to a book I had as a child! It is a fun romp for people who aren't going to get too worked up over a caregiver who smokes, perpetually tells tall tales, and care little for social norms. I really enjoyed it!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't quite live up to the first Ida but a fun treat at Christmastime.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

rural Georgia, depression years

The story begins in late November (preparing for Thanksgiving), and ends with the opening of gifts, but this doesn't seem like a Christmas story. The title should have been something like "Ida Early Meets the Preacher."

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 2 out of 5]

C+. children's fiction, grade 4, folksy, Christmas, humorous

[Wintermote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I would consider a great literary work, but my preschooler actually sat and listened to this being read aloud—I think she liked all the animals.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as a kid and remembered really liking it. It holds up - but the preacher character is extremely unappealing.

[Hannah Alane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was so sweet and lighthearted! Aunt Earnestine certainly had a change of heart in this book. Think I enjoyed this one more than Ida Early Comes Over the Mountain. So so cute!!

[Theresa Lange · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, love it!

[Wayne Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is during the Great Depression, and Randall Sutton, a seventh grader, lives with his father, eighth grade sister Ellen, and six year old twin brothers Clay and Dewey, in the rural mountains of northern Georgia near the town of Buckley where Mr. Sutton works in a lumber yard. In a previous book, Ida Early Comes over the Mountain, which I have not read, Mrs. Sutton has died, and a tall, gangly, raw-boned twenty-something young woman named Ida Early comes over the mountain to keep house for the Sutton family. In Christmas with Ida Early the family meets the new preacher in town, also a tall twenty something young man, and the twins think that he and Ida ought to get married. But what will Brother Preston think of Ida?

The only possible objectionable element is a couple of references to tobacco, in one of which Ida herself pulls out her bag of Bull Durham, rolls a cigarette, and takes a smoke. One may not necessarily agree with all the religious concepts and practices mentioned in the story, but the events surrounding them still make for very funny reading. Author Robert Burch grew up in Fayette County, GA, during the Depression. These books can serve as a great introduction for middle grade readers to the economic hardships of life in the 1930s, and there is the added element of learning how to cope with the loss of a wife and mother. A couple of other reviewers noted that the sequel is not as good as the first Ida Early book but still found it an enjoyable treat. I, too, liked it very much.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's Thanksgiving at the Sutton home. The twins, as usual, befriend the turkey so neither Randall nor Mr. Sutton has the heart to kill it. When the new preacher joins them for dinner, Dewey and Clay play matchmakers for Brother Preston and Ida. They put a red paper heart on Brother Preston's plate. Not seeing it, he eats it with his tuna and rice casserole. Then the twins put a heart on top of the preacher's mincemeat pie, making a pointed reference to how much Ida wants him to have that particular piece. Brother Preston sheepishly puts the heart under his saucer. After this, Brother Preston does all he can to point out Ida's faults. During the Christmas pageant, he balks at her behavior and refuses to let her be a Wiseman in the second performance. Then, the donkey refuses to move at the start of the second show, and Ida feels the sweet taste of revenge.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I missed this book during my childhood, so I read this book over Christmas break to make up for it. This sequel did not fail to disappoint me; I laughed plenty of times. The Sutton children are thrilled when Ida returns to their house for Thanksgiving and stays for the holidays. Ida makes a racket in Sunday school as she teaches the story of the fish and loaves in her own mischievous interpretation. Dewey and Clay, the twins, are still cute and clever and even try to play matchmaker to Ida and Brother Preston. The Christmas tableau is a riot, especially with Ida as a yodeling Wise Man in the afternoon performance and later the donkey not moving. Ida even has a Christmas surprise at the end. If you can get your hands on a copy, grab it and read it, but definitely read Ida Early Comes Over the Mountain first.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christmas with Ida Early by Burch_ Robert
Love Christmas stories and a new preacher comes to town and they are going to do a play of the nativity. She's likes a lot of drama along the way.
Comical at times but meaningful also.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

[Cws]

JAR5-Bur

[42day · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hometown Author. I think his children's books are cute.

[Lindi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ida Early, a character straight of an American Tall Tale, brings holiday joy to the Suttons, who are having their first Christmas without their mother, and to a new, straight-laced preacher.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it long ago and distinctly remember thinking that it wasn't as good as the first Ida Early book. Enjoyed it enough, nonetheless

[Charlie Moses · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a mainstream juvenile book, despite Ida Early being a truly fantastic person. Very much worth reading, even if you're old like me.

[Denise Spicer · Rating 3 out of 5]

About a sort of depression–era, Appalachian Mary Poppins, the story includes Ida’s antics, silly animals, and a church Christmas tableau

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, laugh-out-loud read! This is a great one to read out loud to your children.

[Ismail · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great book.