Angel Coming

When I was a senior nursing student we learned to write a letter of application so that we could find work after graduation. I wrote my letter to the Frontier Nursing Service in Kentucky. These midwives traversed the hills and "hollers" on horseback providing the aid mothers needed when delivering their newborns. This children's book uses gentle dialect and rhyme as the anticipation builds and a new baby sister or brother arrives, brought by the angel on horseback. Both the words and illustrations in Angel Coming are soft and natural describing the green hills under a blue moon and a little girl waking up to a foggy morning watching for the angel to come up the murmuring creek to bring the precious bundle. Young and old alike will enjoy the story told in Angel Coming.

Mama says an angel is coming, coming clear up the mountain, riding clear up Lonesome Creek, a tiny babe tucked in her saddlebag, a tiny babe tucked safe and warm. When we were expecting our second child we made an effort to make sure that our first-born was going to be accepting of his baby brother or sister. This was going to be Michael's baby, and we impressed on him how he had to take care of her. The result was that he was nice towards his new sister; the problem was that we did nothing to protect him from her, because it was so ingrained in him not to hurt her that she took full advantage of the situation and pushed his buttons. But the excitement of a new baby in a family extends even to little children, and that is what "Angel Coming" celebrates. Written by Heather Henson ("Making the Run") and illustrated by Susan Gaber ("When Winter Comes," "The Stable Where Jesus Was Born"), this children's book is set high in the hills of Kentucky where a little girl awaits the arrival of an "angel" who will be bringing a baby sister of brother in her saddlebag. But first the little girl's father needs to bring down the old crib and her mother cleans the old clothes the little girl wore as a baby. Then the aunties come a-calling to make a quilt and there is a celebration before the period of waiting for the angel to appear and bring the new baby. This story was inspired the fact that in the early half of the 20th century in the mountains of Appalachia, when a child asked where babies came from they would be told they were brought up the steep paths tucked safely inside saddlebags, being carried by an angel on horseback. Unlike stories regarding storks or cabbage patches, this one has a kernel of truth. You see, in 1925 Mary Breckinridge created the Frontier Nursing Service in Eastern Kentucky. This was a time when few doctors ventured into the remote mountains of Appalachia, so Breckinridge hired nurse-midwives who wanted adventure but where not afraid of hard work. Wearing blue uniforms, these "angels on horseback" became familiar sites in the mountains, checking the families on their routes each monthly (weekly if a mother's due date was soon). The Author's Note in the back of this book not only tells about the Frontier Nursing Service and has some historic black & white photographs of Breckinridge, her women, and even of a baby in a saddlebag, but also explains that the Service continues today. Now there is a hospital, and the nurse-midwives travel by jeeps for their house calls, but clearly, as Henson points out, the spirit of the angel on horseback lives on. Young readers might not be able to appreciate the history behind this story and will focus instead on the anticipation of a young child for the arrival of a new baby in the house, but "Angel Coming" will resonate with older readers who can appreciate what it was like for women to give birth on the frontier, even when we are taking about women living in the 20th century.

With beautiful lyrical language and nostalgia for time gone by, this book brings to life a hard working family, relatives,expectant good news, and the true facts of nurses on horseback. It weaves a magical spell of love and anticipation with an element of surprise. A great gift for children and the adults who love them.

This book is absolutely gorgeous -- both its breathtaking illustrations and its lyrical story make it a piece of art! Sort of a new twist on the idea of the stork bringing the baby, this book incorporates the true-life legend of nurse-midwives in Appalachia who traveled on horseback through rough terrain to help women give birth. Many children imagined the midwives brought the babies in their saddlebags! This is a perfect gift for a child who is expecting a new sibling, but also an engaging and beautiful piece of historical fiction that will be enjoyed by any child.