Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas

by Russell Hoban (Author) Lillian Hoban (Illustrator)

Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
The inspiration for the beloved Jim Henson film is back in print after over 40 years! In 1977, when Jim Henson debuted the now-classic film Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, few knew it was based on a story written and illustrated by Russell and Lillian Hoban, creators of Bread and Jam for Frances and other treasured children's books. With an enduring score by the great Paul Williams, the movie remains a holiday tradition in homes across America. Now the book that started it all is back in print, in a beautiful gift edition that will thrill Muppets fans young and old. Inspired by the classic tale "The Gift of the Magi," the story begins in a poor country cottage, as Emmet Otter dreams of buying Ma a piano for Christmas, while Ma dreams of buying Emmet a guitar. When a village talent contest is announced, both imagine their dreams coming true. But what they don't imagine finding is their real reward - the power of love, family, and hope in hard times. It is a story that reaches into a reader's heart and reminds us all that fortune favors the brave. A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year "[A]welcome reissue of the Hobans' 1971 story . . . Colorful illustrations of the close-knit animal community containplenty of warmth."--The Horn Book
Select format:
Hardcover
$16.99

Kirkus

With characteristically uncloying gentleness and a conscious use of familiar devices that is neither burlesque nor banality, the Hobans depict an affectionate otter family (just Emmet and his widowed mother) in a softly glowing old-fashioned setting. Outdoing O. Henry's Magi, both Emmet and his mother secretly enter the pre-Christmas amateur contest, each hoping to win the $50.00 prize and buy the other a Christmas present. To enter, Emmet makes a hole in his mother's washtub, her means of livelihood, so he can play it in the Frogtown Hollow Jug Band; his mother in turn pawns Emmet's tools, with which he does odd jobs for the neighbors, for a dress in which to perform as a singer. Both contestants lose, of course, for into this fondly pictured scene comes The Nightmare, a woodchuck group complete with light man, who perform the Riverbottom Rock and Swampland Stone in silvery, spangled costumes. "Well, we took a chance and we lost. That's how it goes," agree the losers, and walking home on the river Ma Otter and the Frogtown Hollow Boys sing so pleasantly that old Doc Bullfrog, digging their "real down-home sound," offers them a steady gig at his Riverside Rest home. Wherever your home, it's a real down-home Christmas story.

Copyright 1971 Kirkus Reviews, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

A Bank Street College of Education 2018 Best Children's Book of the Year

"[A] welcome reissue of the Hobans' 1971 story . . . Colorful illustrations of the close-knit animal community contain plenty of warmth."—The Horn Book
Russell Hoban
RUSSELL HOBAN (1925-2011) was an American novelist and children's writer. He achieved recognition for his popular Frances the Badger series in the 1960s, which he created with his wife, illustrator Lillian Hoban, who illustrated many of his early books. In 1980 he published Riddley Walker, the highly acclaimed, award-winning novel for which he was most renowned.

LILLIAN HOBAN (1925-1998) was a beloved children's book author and illustrator. She is best known for illustrating six books about Frances the Badger, widely recognized as classics of children's literature, in addition to her lovable I Can Read hero Arthur, a young chimpanzee, and his little sister, Violet.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781524714574
Lexile Measure
870
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Doubleday Books for Young Readers
Publication date
October 20, 2017
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV013000 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | General
JUV002000 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | General
JUV017010 - Juvenile Fiction | Holidays & Celebrations | Christmas & Advent
Library of Congress categories
Mothers and sons
Christmas stories
Christmas
Otters

Subscribe to our delicious e-newsletter!