Petunia's Christmas

I received the book in good time and in good condition. I am very satisfied with my purchase.

Petunia loves Charles so much she gathers the money to buy his freedom. This old fashioned love story would be as good for Valentines Day as Christmas, since its story is about true love, someone for everyone, and the power of true love.

The Petunia books are among my favourites from my childhood and are still enormously appealing to children. This story was originally published in 1960 and while elements might not appeal to some people now, it is in fact subversively a wonderful tale. Petunia is goose who lives at Pumpkin farm. During a walk in the snow one day she comes across another goose called Charles at Windy Farm, he is being fattened up for Christmas dinner. Petunia is a pet so is not being fattened up - however she falls in love with Charles and vows to help him escape. First she dresses up by painting herself as a terrible dragon. It works, but only briefly. Charles is led back to the farm - he is 20 pounds in weight and worth 75c a pound So then Petunia hatches a new plan, collecting pine to make christmas decorations and selling them, then she makes other decorations. When she has enough money she rushes to the farm to buy his freedom. The farmer and his wife are so taken with her devotion that they give her Charles and her money back. She and Charles have a marvellous christmas party with all the animals (and Mr and Mrs Pumpkin) and live happily ever after with all their goslings I am sure you can see the appeal. There are some gender roles in this with the farmer and his wife, but then there is Petunia who is tenacious, clever and completely out of stereotypical-female-role. She is a great role model as she peseveres until she finds the solution. The drawings are in the sketchy style of the period with many as line drawings and some coloured. They are very appealing but sometimes I think I prefer the rich lush characters in other books. Petunia is a lovely quirky character to look at and to read about. There are other Petunia books and I would highly recommend those as well.

I loved this Christmas story as a little girl! I have read and reread it over the years. Now as a teacher for almost 20 years I get to share it with my class each year as my favorite story. It encourages them to think of others during this busy season. It is a beautiful and fun lesson about loving and what you can do for others.