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Jam and Jelly by Holly and Nellie (Individual Titles)
Jam and Jelly by Holly and Nellie (Individual Titles) - Image 5

Jam and Jelly by Holly and Nellie (Individual Titles)

$11.00

Holly’s family lives a simple life in northern Michigan, enjoying the bounty of the earth and very much in step with the rhythm of the changing seasons. But times are hard and a cold winter is coming. Without a warm coat, Holly might not be able to start school. Readers will delight in Mama’s solution to Holly’s predicament. National Book Award winner Gloria Whelan’s lyrical prose is beautifully matched by detailed paintings from Michigan artist Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen.

1 in stock

SKU: 1585361097 Categories: ,

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The rewards of hard work and a worthy goal is the theme of Whelan’s (Homeless Bird) appealingly sweet story set in northern Michigan, “where the winter wind lays hold of you and the snow falls until everything is like a sheet of white paper.” Though it is still summer as the tale opens, Mama knows that Holly will need a warm coat and boots when she starts school in the fall. Papa replies that Holly will have to stay home when the weather gets bad (“You can’t expect money from carrots that grow in sand or cabbages that have to push away rocks on their way up”). But Mama is determined: “When I was Holly’s age I missed school half the winter. Ever since, my learning’s got big holes in it.” Although van Frankenhuyzen’s (Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot) close-up portraits can be stilted, he excels at lush, luminous paintings of mother and daughter picking five varieties of berries as each comes into season. A summertime spread of a blue heron and mother duck followed by a quintet of ducklings, a trout barely visible under the river’s surface, provides convincing evidence of why the family would be willing to weather the harsh winters. The yield from the berry pickers (with some promotional help from Papa) clinches a mother-daughter triumph, as the closing image of the smiling, cherubic child standing in the swirling snow, snug in a fur-lined, hooded red coat, attests. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-A sweet story with undertones of strength. Nellie is determined to buy her daughter a good winter coat and boots in order to get to school throughout the northern Michigan winter. She is adamant about coming up with the money because she often had to stay home as a child and feels that her “learning’s got big holes in it” as a result. Nellie is nevertheless a wonderful teacher, showing Holly not only the importance of an education, but also teaching her about the various woodland animals and birds they encounter as they gather berries for jams to sell. Holly’s father shows his love and support by building a roadside stand to display their wares. The full-page oil paintings emphasize how rich this family really is-in love and in their life at the edge of the forest. Van Frankenhuyzen’s paintings are luminous and play up the passing seasons. When Holly finally gets her winter clothing, her face is priceless, proud and glowing. Most importantly, she has learned the joy of achieving a goal. The lining pages offer recipes for all of the jams so readers may become inspired to do some berry picking of their own.
Susan Marie Pitard, formerly at Weezie Library for Children, Nantucket Atheneum, MA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

K-Gr. 2. A beautiful story with threads of family devotion, love of learning, and perseverance woven through it like shot silk. There’s no money on the northern Michigan farm for Holly to get a warm coat and boots, but Holly’s mother is determined that Holly will go to school during the winter. From spring to late summer, Holly and her mother pick wild strawberries, Juneberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, turning them into jam and jelly. Holly works alongside her mom, noticing the waxwings and the dragonflies, the milkweed and the butterflies. Dad builds a stand to sell the wares; just before school, the shelves are empty and the money jar is full. The coat keeps Holly warm while waiting for the school bus, but so do the memories of summer picking and the scent of berries. The artist has painted each picture full-bleed across the double-spreads, using saturated colors and patterned brushstrokes that echo Impressionists Monet and Renoir as well as the golden landscapes of Dutch painters. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“This is a beautiful children’s book about a Northern Michigan family. Nellie, the mother, is determined that her daughter, Holly, should have a warm coat and boots so Holly can start school. ‘If she has to stay home half the winter, her learning will have big holes.’ Nellie’s solution is to take berries from the woods and make jellies and jams to sell. They even make a few pies for them to eat. Holly gets some nature study, too, as the seasons change. Gijsbert Van Frankenhuyzen’s illustrations are delightful. What a wonderful book to share with a little girl!”
— “Grand Rapids Press” (March 2003)

About the Author

Gloria Whelan is a poet and the award-winning author of many children’s books including Homeless Bird, for which she received the National Book Award. The Listeners is her third title in the Tales of Young Americans series. Her other picture books with Sleeping Bear Press include Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers (2008 Society of Illustrators Gold Medal winner); Yatandou (a Junior Library Guild selection); and Friend on Freedom River (a Jefferson Cup honor book). Ms. Whelan lives near Lake St. Clair in Michigan where you can often find her out walking.

Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen was born in the Netherlands in 1951. With his seven brothers and sisters, he grew up exploring nature and his sketch pads were filled with observations from those family outings. Always drawing as a young boy, his father encouraged Gijsbert to make art his career. After high school, he attended and graduated from the Royal Academy of Arts in Arnhem, Holland.

Gijsbert, or “Mr. Nick” as many children affectionately call him during his school visits, immigrated to the United States in 1976 and worked as Art Director for the Michigan Natural Resources Magazine for 17 years. In 1995, he illustrated his first children’s book, The Legend of Sleeping Bear, finally fullfilling his dream of illustrating children’s books.

Residing in Bath, Michigan, Nick and his family share their 40-acre farm with sheep, horses, dogs, cats, turkeys, rabbits, chickens, pigeons and a revolving door of orphaned and injured wild life. The family’s nature journals logged 20 years of wild life rehabilitation on the farm and it is through these journals that the popular Hazel Ridge series was created. The farm, the land and the animals make great subjects for the artist to paint.

Mr. Nick travels to schools and conferences to share his passion for drawing—encouraging kids to make their hobby their career.

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Dimensions 490 in
Item Condition

Collectible – Like New

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