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25 Local Warehouse Children's- Humor
6 Remote Warehouse Children's Holiday- Christmas

This title in other formats:

Red Ranger Came Calling

by Berkeley Breathed

Red Ranger Came Calling Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

This unique story of one boy's Christmas wish begins and ends with a bicycle. Using glowing images and a funny, provocative text, the author relives his father's most amazing childhood Christmas. A moody young boy living with his aunt on an island in the Pacific Northwest, "Red" Breathed sees himself as the "Red Ranger from Mars," his hero from the movie serials, and cannot picture life without the gift of a Red Ranger bicycle. Red is far too "swanky a human being" to believe in Santa Claus, but nevertheless he pays a visit to the aged island hermit Lord Sander Clos, rumored to be the legendary man himself now living in lonely, joyless retirement. This strange and bittersweet meeting triggers an emotional response within the self-absorbed Red. It also leads to the most remarkable bicycle ever delivered on a Christmas morning: one neatly and permanently stuck inside a tree. The book ends with a photograph of the amazing tree fifty years later — still holding the bicycle of a boy who grew up happy without it.

This book represents the Pulitzer Prize-winning Berkeley Breathed at the top of his form. It combines hypnotic imagery and richly textured language to create a powerful, unforgettable Christmas story.

Review:

"Reaffirming a reader's belief in the spirit that is Santa, this could become a perennial seller." Publisher Weekly

Review:

"A most original Christmas book." Booklist

Review:

"The author/illustrator's shadowy, often grotesque scenes evoke an atmosphere of pervasive disillusionment....Middle-schoolers too tough for Santa stories will be drawn to Breathed's looming images and cynically edged humor." Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Synopsis:

Using glowing, hypnotic images and a funny, provocative text, the narrator relives his father's most amazing childhood Christmas. A moody young boy living with his aunt on an island, Red Breathed sees himself as the Red Ranger from Mars, his hero from the movie serials, and cannot picture life without the gift of a Red Ranger bicycle. Red is far too swanky a human being to believe in Santa Claus, but nevertheless he pays a visit to the aged island hermit, Lord Sander Clos, rumored to be the legendary man himself, now living in lonely, joyless retirement. This meeting triggers an emotional response within the self-absorbed Red and leads to the most remarkable bicycle ever delivered on Christmas morning. This book represents Berkeley Breathed at the top of his form.

Synopsis:

While spending Christmas in 1939 with a well-meaning aunt, a young boy who does not believe in Santa Claus has an unusual experience that changes his thinking.

About the Author

Berkeley Breathed won the Pulitzer Prize for his cartoon strip Bloom County. This is his fourth book for children and their adult counterparts.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780316102490
Author:
Breathed, Berkeley
Publisher:
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Location:
Boston :
Subject:
Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks
Subject:
Holidays & Festivals - Christmas
Subject:
Christmas
Subject:
Humorous Stories
Subject:
Santa claus
Subject:
Holidays & Celebrations - Christmas
Subject:
Holidays & Celebrations - Christmas & Advent
Edition Number:
1st paperback ed.
Publication Date:
September 1997
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Yes
Pages:
32
Dimensions:
10.16x10.68x.20 in. .64 lbs.
Age Level:
04-08

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