by Natalie Savage Carlson
I was hoping for a lovely little story for our Christmas read aloud and boy was I not disappointed. This book was charming, funny and profound but without being sentimental and sappy.
It takes place on the streets of Paris. A hobo named Armand is very happy with his state in life. He is free to do as he pleases with no responsibility and no one to worry about but himself. Then he meets the Calcet children who thwart his attempts to keep himself from caring about them. There is nothing better than the softening of a curmudgeonly old heart.
The book shows a side of Paris that most people don’t usually see. Probably because, people purposefully turn away to avoid seeing this side of Paris (and any other city). It gives a good ‘Day in the Life’ of the nameless, faceless rabble and their life of living on the streets. It was very humanizing.
It’s beautifully written and worked well as a read aloud. It just rolled off the tongue. It’s also not very long. We were doing a chapter a day, but went ahead and finished it early. We were all eager to see how it ended.
I highly recommend this book. You will be a better person having read it.
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