AN ORANGE FOR FRANKIE

Written and Illustrated by Patricia Polacco
www.patriciapolacco.com
Philomel Books c.2004
Art is done in watercolor and pencil.

AR Reading Level = 4.6
22 pages of text
Good read-aloud for 5th graders

As soon as you open this book you are taken back to a different time. A time before heated vehicles, grocery stores and cell phones. A time when family and tradition really mattered. Like many of Patricia Polacco's books, this is a true story handed down through the familial generations of a long ago Michigan Christmas.

Frankie is the youngest boy of the nine Stowell children. He, and his siblings who still remain at home, help with household chores and learn the true meaning of giving through their mother's generosity. Ma Stowell prepares hot food and coffee for the train engineer and his errant passengers who pass by on the railway that shares the edge of the Stowell property.
Frankie proves his mother's lessons are not lost when he gives his newest sweater, knitted by his oldest sister Stella, to one of the train's passengers who needs it much more than Frankie does. Frankie fears that his gift to the stranger will get him in trouble with his family. Before leaving the Stowell property, Mr. Dunkle the engineer, talks of bad weather up in Lansing.
Every year, Pa Stowell heads up to Lansing to bring back nine oranges, one for each of the Stowell children, to place on the Christmas mantel. Just days before Christmas, Pa is still not home and the entire family is concerned.
Ma Stowell's generosity is repaid when Pa Stowell makes it home through the bad weather on Christmas Eve, thanks to Mr. Dunkle's kindness. Each child places their orange on the mantel, with Pa's order not to touch them until supper later that day, and the family prepares to leave for church. The anticipation is too much for Frankie and he picks up his orange, only to have to hide it in his sweater when his mother comes to get him for church. It isn't hard to figure out that Frankie's orange will never make it back to the mantel.
As the rest of this story unfolds your heart will swell as you peek into the past, into the Stowell home and feel the love they all have for each other. The true meaning of Christmas is presented in clarity throughout the entire story. The author's note at the end will break your heart and have even the least sensitive person sitting silent, reflecting, for just a moment.