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    Great Joy!
    Great Joy!
    Great Joy!
    Audiobook8 minutes

    Great Joy!

    Written by Kate DiCamillo

    Narrated by Jane Curtin

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Frances is worried about the monkey and organ grinder who play near her window, especially after she sees them sleeping outside on the cold street after midnight. To express her compassion, she finds just the right thing to say at the local Christmas pageant.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWeston Woods
    Release dateJan 1, 2008
    ISBN9780545467421
    Great Joy!
    Author

    Kate DiCamillo

    Kate DiCamillo is the acclaimed author of many books for young readers, including The Tale of Despereaux, winner of the Newbery Medal; Because of Winn-Dixie, a Newbery Honor Book; and The Tiger Rising, a National Book Award finalist. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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    Reviews for Great Joy!

    4.5/5

    28 ratings11 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Beautiful story of the love of a child helping someone homeless at Christmas time find a small piece of Joy too.
    • 5/5
      This is one of the most beautiful picture books I've ever seen. Just published in 2007, I think it's destined to become a treasured family classic that children and their parents will want to return to each Christmas season. Written by Newbery award winning Kate Dicamillo and illustrated by the talented Bagram Ibatoulline, *Great Joy* tells the story of a young girl named Frances who is anticipating (with great joy!) her small part in her church's annual Christmas pageant. The story is set in the 1940s (a fact not mentioned in the text, but evident from the illustrations). Frances and her mother often see an organ grinder and his monkey on the corner, and Frances, with the curiosity of many young children, wonders where the man and his monkey go at night when it's cold. Her concern for their welfare translates into an invitation to them to come to the pageant.This is a poignant and beautiful book, from the golden end papers to the light-filled illustrations. Both story and text gently evoke the longings and hopes of the Christmas season, and show how joyful the good news of that season is when it's truly proclaimed to all. A great family read-aloud.
    • 4/5
      A young girl named Francis expresses curiosity over an organ grinder and his monkey, after seeing them from the window. One night, she sees them sleeping outside, and asks her mother if they can invite them to dinner. Her mother says no. On the way to her church Christmas pageant, Francis gives the man a nickel, and invites him to her pageant. Her mother encourages her to walk away. In the church, when the time came for Francis to say her line, she hesitated. Then, upon seeing the organ grinder and his monkey, with outstretched arms, Francis exclaims, "Behold! I bring you tidings of Great Joy!" This simple, yet touching, story shows how a young girl can do what many adults would not. Her pure desire to help the old man, or at least, acknowledge him, is very evident, both through the words and pictures. Kate DiCamillo, a Newbery Medal winner, shares a holiday story that can be read year-round. Bagram Ibatoulline's rich gouache illustrations provide picturesque scenes of the city, and reveal the book's main characters' inner feelings. The organ grinder appears old, tired, and cold, just as Francis saw him. For most of the story, she sees him from a distance, but managed to notice him, nonetheless. Her mother's face and body language show a mother with other worries, and she does not seem to want to become involved with this man, nor his monkey, in any way. The illustrations' colors are muted, and dream-like. In the last scene, we see everyone socializing together, probably in another room on the church grounds. The organ grinder took his jacket off, is smiling, and is talking to the mother, who is also smiling. We see the children playing with the monkey. Out of the cold, the old man blends in with the rest of the crowd, looking like any other man, which is, perhaps, just how Francis saw him from the start.
    • 5/5
      This book is an example of realistic fiction. This represents a story that could easily happen in present day life. Students could likely see themselves or others in this same position. This allows the students to easily relate to the characters. It tells the truths of how people interact with with other people from all economic levels. I would use this book in an intermediate classroom. The type of media used is pastels.
    • 4/5
      Celebrated children's novelist Kate DiCamillo, who won a Newbery Medal in 2004 for The Tale of Despereaux, turns here to the picture-book, spinning a lovely Christmas tale that perfectly captures the spirit of the season. As young Frances and her mother prepare for the upcoming Christmas pageant at church, the young girl finds herself drawn to the melancholy organ grinder who shows up, together with his red-capped monkey, on the corner across from her city apartment one day. Questioning her mother about the man, and where he and his monkey sleep at night, she is met with evasive non-answers. Waking up late one night, and spying the man and his monkey huddling on the corner, she realizes that they have no home. Distressed and concerned, she asks her mother if they can have the man to dinner, only to be told that strangers can't be invited into the home. Passing the man on the way to church, Frances has an inspired idea, realizing that there is one place where she can invite strangers to enter...With a moving story, one that perfectly blends the wonder of the Christmas season, as seen through the eyes of a child, with the more adult realities of want and sorrow, and beautiful illustrations that capture the light and darkness in the story, Great Joy is a book that seems to move effortlessly toward its heartfelt conclusion. I appreciated the emotional honesty here - the depiction of Frances' concern, the fact that Frances' mother doesn't have the answers or solutions that she is looking for, the reality that, despite including the organ grinder in the Christmas celebration, his situation hasn't changed by the end of the story - and enjoyed the historical setting (it looks to be the 1930s or 1940s). The artwork is simply breathtaking, with a soft sensibility that works very well, particularly in some of the more shadowy scenes. I think this would make an excellent introduction to the topic of homelessness and hunger, or of social inclusion, for some young children. The open-ended conclusion - we never really find out what happens to the organ grinder after the pageant - lends itself naturally to discussion, and raises questions such as: what more (if anything) should Frances, her mother, and the church community do, to help the organ grinder? Just a lovely, lovely story, one that gets at the heart of the true spirit of Christmas, in the shape of our love for our fellow human beings.
    • 5/5
      I can't wait to read more Kate DiCamillo.
    • 5/5
      Excellent story with great illustrations and an important message for all to hear. The compassion a young girl , Frances, has for a homeless organ grinder and his monkey.
    • 5/5
      This is a wonderful newer picture book for Christmas sharing with a young person of your choice. Either the text or pictures could stand on their own, but together they make one of the best of this genre. The theme is the inclusion of the marginalized, a very appropriate one for Christmas and one that I found in DiCamillo's other book I've read, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. The book is set during World War II, as one can tell from the pictures (and, truly, when did you last see an organ-grinder with a monkey?) So, there is a lot to talk about in the pictures besides the story itself. I would highly recommend this book.
    • 4/5
      Reason for Reading: I am a fan of the author.This is a lovely Christmas picture book that, aside from a religious aspect, captures the true essence of Christmas. First of all, the illustrations are absolutely breathtaking paintings done in acrylic gouache. They place the story in the past sometime, but it is not until we see the photograph of the man in uniform do we place the story as being during, World War II. This book is worthy for its pictures alone. Yet, it has a text equally breathtaking to match. The story of a little girl who has compassion for the organ grinder she sees across the street each day, wondering where they go at night. The mother has no time for the girl's interest in the man, understandably so, under her circumstances. But when the girl stays up late one night and finds out that they live on the street, she sees the sadness in the man's eyes and invites him to church to watch her Christmas Pageant. At first it does not look as if the man will show up and the girl, playing an angel cannot get her lines out. But when she sees him enter the church she boldly cries "I bring you tidings of Great Joy!" Later, we see the organ grinder happily talking to the mother at a reception in the church hall. A heartwarming, touching story for the Christmas season which I think shows a great response to Christ's words "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Matt 25:40
    • 5/5
      Text and illustrations pack a gentle emotional punch; very evocative of the era and a beautiful story.
    • 5/5
      The combination of a Christmas story of homelessness, a little girl who is concerned, and the inclusion and safety of a church, lends to an incredible tale, rich in meaning and significance at this time of year. With the added lush, rich, incredible illustrations of Bagram Ibatoulline this is my favorite illustrated book of 2014.When a little girl notices a lonely organ grinder and his monkey standing on the street corner during a very cold day, she cannot help but wonder what happens to them during the night. Purposely staying awake, she waits and watches in the dark as she sees them alone, cold and sad.Asking her mother what will happen to them provides frustration as she is consumed with day-to-day tasks. The setting appears to be WWII and there is an unspoken, but implied sense that the father is absent, perhaps away at war. When her mother prepares her costume for the Christmas Eve pageant, the young girl once again worries about the man and his monkey in the cold of winter. Dropping a coin into the cup of the monkey, she invites the organ grinder to attend church that evening.Hopeful that the organ grinder will come to church to see her read her biblical lines regarding the birth of Jesus who will bring great joy, she finds she cannot say her words until she sees the door open and the organ grinder enter the church.The organ grinder is welcomed after the service and for this shining night he is happy. In a mere 32 pages, the author raises many issues. The ending is unclear and we are left to wonder what happens after that Christmas Eve night. So often, we reach out to others over the holidays, forgetting the needs still unmet for the remainder of the year. So often, in our haste and daily wear and tear, we have little energy for others. It is through the eyes of a sensitive child, that the story comes to life. It is her compassion and questioning, that lives are touched, if only for one evening filled with meaning and joy.