This book is about two sisters. One of the sisters is mentally disabled. And the other one is embarrassed to be seen with her. Ruth wants to be a part of the Christmas pageant that her town also holds but she doesnt get the part. Through the book Ruth realizes how much she loves her disabled sister.

I think this would be a good book for child that have brothers or sisters.

In the classroom I would have the children write a time when they felt how Ruth felt about her sister. If they don't have one they could write about a friend.

This story is about a girl names Ruth. She loves to sing and wants to sing in the Christmas pagent. She is not able to and it is all due to her little oddball sister. Throughout the story Ruth realises how much her sister means to her.

I like this story because it talks about siblings and how they can learn to understand each other, even if one of them is a little weird.

One idea to use in the classroom would be to have the children write an essay over thier siblings. If the children do not have siblings, they could write about what they would want in one. ( )

This story is set in a small town called Hobart in Oklahoma. It is based about an actual event in 1929 that was found in the newspaper. The characters are fiction. Masterfully written, it follows the lives of two sisters. The oldest sister, Daphne is retarded. The younger sister, Ruth Ann Tillman loves her but is embarassed to be in public places with her. The younger sister is the main character. Ruth wants so much to be the solo in the play. Her best friend gets the part. She admires and hates a boy names Elden. She plays a funny pranks on him. The decriptions of the characters bring them to life. Humor is throughout. The book made me laugh out loud. It also made me cry. The town celebrates a Christmas pagent every year in a small one-room school house.*Spoiler* The candles light the christmas tree on fire. The towns people are so packed in that the doors get blocked. The people get trapped inside. Some are trampled. The oldest sister and a neighbor baby are missing. No one finds their bodies. The mother of the baby fears that the retarded sister has harmed her. The miracle is that they are found alive in a barn.
Darleen Bailey Beard has a web site: that offers teachers activities such as a play and tests to go along with this book as well as some of her other children's books. She also has a way to contact her to invite her to come to your school. ( )