A Full House: An Austin Family Christmas

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful Austin story; but not really for young children
Review: Grown-ups (and older children) who are fans of MadeleineL'Engle's Austin family books will love this short Christmas story.

It is a picture book, but it really isn't a children's story in the same sense as L'Engle's _The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas._  For one thing, Full House is told (in the first person) from Mrs. Austin's perspective rather than 7 yo Vicky's.  It takes place a few years after _24 Days_.   Rob is no longer a baby, and Suzy is 8.   In the story, Mrs. Austin, her father, and the children come home from Christmas Eve service to find their former babysitter huddled on the doorstep.  It turns out that Evie is pregnant.  Here is an excerpt:

"I remembered hearing that her father seldom came home without stopping first at the tavern, and that her mother had the reputation of being no better than she should be.  And yet I knew that their response to Evie's pregnancy would be one of righteous moral indignation..."

Not typical picture-book text, and while I loved it myself, it's probably not something I would read to my 6 and 8 year olds.

BTW, the ENTIRE text of the story is also found in the grown-up book A Miracle on Tenth Street, which is a collection of short stories, essays, poems, journal entries, etc...mostly about Christmas.  (It also includes the text of 24 Days.)