David Rubel (1)Rezensionen

I probably read too much at once so not sure how much will stick. August 2009½

I enjoyed this book for what it is. There are four "syllabi", each of which contain 5 topics. Each topic in a syllabus is spread over 18 pages. You can approach it anyway you want: read 1 page of each topic a day (5 pages) for 18 days to finish the syllabus, or maybe follow one topic within a syllabus all the way through (18 pages) or read a topic over several syllabi: for example, the topic "American History" in syllabi one and four cover "General Grant's Civil War" and "Civil Rights Movement", or topic "Physical Science" covers "The Astronomical Universe", "The History of the Earth" and "Einstein and Relativity". You get a well-written overview of the topic by a specialist in the course of 18 pages, each page dedicated to one important aspect of the topic. It puts things in context, yet doesn't get bogged down in detail or overly complex. At the back of the book, there is a short bibliography for each topic for further reading. It's a good way to get your footing in an area you may be interested in, but know little about.

Be inspired to get involved as you learn the story of how a few people created Habitat for Humanity. Study how this worldwide organization was created and maintained.

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The Carpenter's Gift is a beautiful Christmas tale of the how far will the spirit of giving go. Henry and his father are harvesting Christmas trees. They do not have a lot of money, but selling trees is the way that they provide for the bare necessities. Call it a fluke of luck, but Henry and his father were in the right place at the right time. Men who were carpenters helped them with the trees in town. Just through conversation, they found out that Henry's home needed a lot of work. It seems that giving and helping is infectious. Those carpenters were joined by the locals who also came and helped to build Henry and his family a whole other house. One of the carpenters left Henry with a gift: a hammer. Henry kept that hammer for a long time. Until it was time to pass it on, as it was passed on to him.½

Henry is a little boy and he lives in a shack with his mom and his dad. They are poor and do not have heat in the cold winters. Henry is very humble and does not complain. One day Henry's father takes him to cut down Christmas trees and they sell them in New York near Rockefeller Center. When they've made enough money they give the rest of the trees to the other men that worked with them. Henry finds a pine cone on the ground and decides to take it home with him. Henry wishes for a warm house to live in for Christmas. On Christmas day the workers come to their little shack with all the lumber from their trees and build them a house. Henry's wish came true and he plants his pine cone which grows into a huge Christmas tree that he eventually donates to Rockefeller Center and they use it to build another family in need a home after Christmas. I really like this story because it shows the power of community. I like that he makes a Christmas wish and its not Santa who just magically makes his wish come true, its his community, its the people giving back to him after he offered what he could to them (the trees). In the back of the book it tells about Rockefellar Center and more of its history, it also teaches about Habitat for Humanity for people who might not have known about it.

Super wholesome story that shows the power of generosity and helping people, along with the beautiful story of a Rockefeller Tree. The main character goes through his entire life, recounting the time when him and his dad were working hard, some generous and kind people helping to build them a new house, to growing this beautiful pine tree for like 60-70 years and giving it up to be the Rockefeller tree, and allowing the wood to be used to build a family in need home. The way the story wraps up at the end with the main character giving the little girl his hand-me-down hammer was so satisfying and made me so happy.

Henry was a little boy during the time of the Great Depression. His parents were out of work and his family was beginning to struggle. One day, Henry and his father cut down spruce trees and went to Midtown Manhattan to sell them. After the day was over, the workers gathered together for a party and decorated one of the trees. Henry made a wish by the Christmas tree. On Christmas morning, workers from the Rockefeller center showed up at Henry's house. The workers found extra wood lying around and wanted to help build a new home for Henry's family. This is how the tradition of the Rockefeller Center Tree began. After Christmas is over and the tree is cut down, Habitat for Humanity uses lumber from the tree to build a new home for a family in need. I think this is a great story because it teaches children about helping others. Also, Habitat for Humanity is still helping families in need today.

Not as entertaining as An Incomplete Education, but still very informative for the neophyte.

A heartwarming story of the first Rockefeller Christmas tree. It is definitely going to be an every Christmas tradition to read aloud this book to my class, because it is about giving. David Rubel dedicated it to " those who give back and those who receive without forgetting", and there is so much wisdom in that.
A struggling New York father who lost his job in the choking grip of Great Depression decides to make some money by cutting down and selling Christmas trees. The main character of the story, his son, takes the trip. Together they make profit and new friends at the midtown construction site, so the last few trees they give to the kind worked who helped them set up. They all decorate the tallest tree by the Rockefeller center, and the little boy, mesmerized by the beauty if the tree, the company, the night, makes a wish to live in a real, warm house one day. Well, the next day, Christmas morning, the workers show up at his parents' shack and start building them a new home! It is now a tradition that the lumber from every Christmas tree at Rockefeller center is used to build a house for a family in need. The little boy grows up and becomes old, and the beautiful spruce he planted when his house was built gets to be the new Rockefeller Christmas tree, and struggling family gets a new house. This book is truly about giving and helping. The illustrations by Jim LaMarche capture the wonders of giving, kindness, and Christmas like I have never seen before! I couldn’t help but to cry like a baby when I was reading this incredible book. Thank you, David Rubel and Jim LaMarche.

The Carpenter's Gift: A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Center Tree will be a great book to add to our family Christmas Read-Aloud list. It will stretch the children's imagination to another time ( the depression) and another part of our great country, New York City. Great Illustrations.

The Carpenter's Gift tells the story of eight-year-old Henry and his father selling Christmas trees. They give a Christmas tree to construction workers building Rockefeller Center and celebrate together. Through the kindness of the construction workers and neighbors, Henry gets his wish for a nice, warm home to replace his family's drafty shack. He plants a pinecone from that first Rockefeller Center Tree. As an old man, Henry repays the gift by donating the enormous tree that has grown from that pinecone to become a Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. After bringing joy to thousands as the Rockefeller Center tree, its wood will be used to build a home for another family in need.

Henry grew up in New York during the Great Depression. Now an old man, he remembers how his family lived in a small shack with no heat, so winters were especially cold. One year, Henry's father took him into the city to sell Christmas trees. Having great success selling their trees, and with a few left over, Henry's father decides to give them to the construction workers who were kind enough to let them set up near their site. The workers, Henry, and his father all helped decorate the biggest tree they had. While decorating the tree, Henry found a pinecone and made a wish that his family would some day live in a nice warm house of their own. On Christmas morning, Henry awoke to find that the construction workers were there to build his family a new house! One of the workers, Frank, gave Henry a hammer so he could help build the house. Henry was so grateful for all his family had been given, he decides to bury the pinecone he had made the wish on. Years went by and the tree grew and grew just as Henry did. In his old age Henry moves back into the house. While working on the house, a man shows up and tells Henry that he would be honored to have his tree be this year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. Henry is very reluctant until the man says that the lumber from the tree will be used to build a new house for a family in need. Henry meets the family and gives their young daughter the hammer that Frank had given him as a child. It warms Henry's heart to know he's able to help another family just as his had been helped so many years ago.
This story shows that no matter how down on your luck you may be, kindness and the act of giving are always important. It also is an excellent way to introduce concepts such as the great depression or the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree tradition to students.

This book is about a young boy and his family going through some rough times around 1931 during the Great Depression. The young boy and his father donate one of their family farm’s trees to the Rockefeller workers in New York City and in return the workers build the boy’s family a brand new house. The boy then plants a small pine cone in their backyard and as his life goes on the tree becomes larger than he could have ever imagined. When the boy is much older he donates the tree back to the Rockefeller center and is promised that the trees lumber will be used to make another family a brand new home. Symbolizing that everything eventually comes back full circle. One theme or lesson that stayed consistent throughout this book was the idea that no good deed goes unnoticed and that their are truly kind people in the world around us. I feel the setting played a big role in the story because it really emphasized how big of a gesture donating one of the families trees or building someone a home truly was. It was a time where most everyone was down on their luck and could use every penny they could get. So having the heart to donate anything was a considered a big deal.½

The Carpenter's Gift was a good book. It all started with Henry's father needing money for the upcoming holidays. He chopped down spruces for Christmas trees and sold them to the people in New York City. Afterwards, he left the left over trees for the men who worked at the Rockefeller center to have. They decided to take the tree and put it up and decorate it. Henry wished for a warm house not knowing that is what he'll soon get. Henry's father had made enough money for the day and was being generous. Well, the next day for Christmas, they had gotten a gift of their own. The men from Rockefeller Center came to help build them a house. When you give with expectations of not receiving anything, good things happen. I thought what the men were doing was extraordinary. Then later on in the book, an older Henry decides to give his tree that he planted when he was a boy to the Rockefeller center so they can decorate it and then build someone a home with it. When Henry heard that he gave the tree up with no hesitation. I really like that concept of the book. People gave without expecting anything in return. But good things always happened to the person afterwards.

A moving Christmas story of a little boy who lives in poverty and make a wish at the Rockefeller Center for the miracle of having a house, and he did. It represents an historical moment of U.S. history, of a family facing the depression of 1931. A traditional human story made in watercolors, that advocates for Habitat for Humanity initiatives.

What a great book to read around Christmas time. This story is based on the true story of the Rockefeller Center tree. I think I enjoyed this book not only because of the touching story, but because I never knew that each year when the tree from Rockefeller Center was taken down, the tree is milled into lumber that Habitat for Humanity uses in order to build simple home for a family in need. The story starts off with a boy, Henry, just wishing to have a home one-day where it would keep him warm. When he and his father one day go out to sell Christmas trees, they give the last few away to some construction workers who decorate the tallest one which ended up being the first Rockefeller Center tree. When the boy wakes up on Christmas morning, the construction workers surprised Henry and his family with enough lumber to build the family a new simple home. When the house was finished, Henry was gifted a hammer from one of the workers that would one day change his life. Henry had planted a pinecone next to his new house and as time passed the tree grew tall and strong and Henry ended up becoming a carpenter. As Henry got older, he moved back into his old house and started fixing the place up again. A man stopped by one day as Henry was working and asked if they could chop down his tree and use for Rockefeller Center. At first, Henry didn’t want to lose his tree, but when the man explained to Henry what the tree would be used for after Christmas, Henry thought back to the time he was a young boy in his cold house and how he was able to receive a nice new home and decided it was time for him to give back. Henry got to meet the young girl at Rockefeller Center who would be getting a new home thanks to his tree. He felt so happy and warm inside that he was able to provide that for someone just as he was thankful for the time he got a new home. The theme and main thing I got from this book is that kindness is such a great thing for a person to have. Such a little act of kindness and compassion can change someone’s life in so many ways.

WOW! Now this is a fabulous Christmas read. LOVED the story, the message and the illustrations. This would make for a wonderful annual Christmas read.

This is a must read during the holiday season. While factional, this is a tale inspired by the true story of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, this is a joy to behold. With wonderful, crisp illustrations of Jim LaMarche, the author weaves a lovely tale of a young boy whose father is, like ever so many during the depression era of the United States, down and out, out of work and unable to provide for his family.

When the father decides to chop down trees and haul them to New York City to sell, he and his son make the early morning trek. Giving the unsold trees to construction workers who are kind to them, their generosity is repaid when they workers unexpectedly show up at the shack they are living in. Building a new home from extra lumber from the construction site, the young boy is overwhelmed by their kindness.

As the story progresses we learn that the young man became a carpenter who kept the gift of a tool given by the construction workers. When the young boy/now man took seeds from one of the Christmas trees of long ago, the tree, now huge and standing near the home of his father, he never expected that the tree would be used at the Rockefeller Plaza.

Based on the original story of construction workers in 1931 who were ever so grateful for the employment at hand, placed a tree at the site and, together decorated the tree with thankful hearts for the ability to purchase food for their families.

Inspiring, well written, beautifully illustrated, this is a stellar book. In reading the book, I discovered that the wood from the current Rockefeller Center Christmas trees is used to build homes for the poor.

Good informational book for kids. Has lots of pictures and details. Good for second grade and on.

The story behind Habatit for Humanity. Charleston, WV and story of local Kanawha Valley affilitate mentioned. Inspirational, educational, good read.

The story behind Habatit for Humanity. Charleston, WV and story of local Kanawha Valley affilitate mentioned. Inspirational, educational, good read.

A poignant holiday tale, one which highlights the importance of generosity, and the joy of unexpected gifts at Christmas-time, The Carpenter's Gift was a pleasure to read! David Rubel's fictional narrative, which is set during the Great Depression, is inspired by the very first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree - set up informally by construction workers on the site, in 1931 - and follows the story of a young boy whose father, out of work and down on his luck, takes him down to New York City to sell trees. Aided in setting up by Frank and some of the other construction workers they meet, Henry and his father end up giving the trees they don't sell to their new friends, who unexpectedly repay them tenfold, showing up at their rundown shack the next day, with extra lumber and the offer of help to build a new house. Recalling these events, many years later, Henry - who ended up becoming a carpenter - decides to donate his giant fir tree, grown from the pinecone he found that extraordinary day in New York City, allowing it to be used as that year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

Although the story of Henry and his father is fictional, it includes a number of historical and contemporary facts, from the construction workers who set up the first tree at Rockefeller Center, to the current use of that tree, after Christmas is over, in a Habitat for Humanity building project. I really appreciated the cyclical nature of this story, with an elder (Frank) giving Henry a number of gifts as a young boy - the new house, his hammer - and Henry passing on those gifts to another child, when he is an old man. I also really liked the fact that the story here highlights the reality that one of New York's most beloved holiday traditions, despite its current glamorous trappings, and very wealthy setting, was the brain-child of working people, and began as a spontaneous expression of gratitude for work - a feeling with which many Americans can identify these days. I couldn't help thinking, as I was reading this brief story, of how often we forget that it is the ordinary working people who make all good things possible in our society, rather than the wealthy and powerful. What better reminder, in this day of glitz, than a story about the origins of one of the most famous Christmas trees in our country?

In addition to really appreciating its message, both as a story of the holiday spirit, and as an expression of solidarity with people struggling through hard times, I loved the artwork in The Carpenter's Gift, which was simply gorgeous. Jim LaMarche delivers another luminous triumph here, with expressive paintings that really capture the feeling of each scene. Through LaMarche's painting, one can feel the morning cold with Henry, and experience with him his surprise and delight, when Frank and the others show up at his house. This is just a lovely, lovely book, one I highly recommend to anyone looking for excellent Christmas stories, and to fans of the artist.