Rettie and the Ragamuffin Parade A Thanksgiving story

Trinka Hakes Noble

Book - 2017

During the 1918 influenza outbreak, nine-year-old Rettie seeks ways to make Thanksgiving special for her siblings and ailing mother.

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Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
Ann Arbor, MI : Sleeping Bear Press [2017]
Language
English
Main Author
Trinka Hakes Noble (author)
Other Authors
David (David Colby) Gardner, 1959- (illustrator)
Physical Description
1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 29 cm
ISBN
9781585369607
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Thanksgiving gets a historical bent in this picture book, which takes readers back to 1918 New York when the Spanish influenza was devastating the city. In tenements on the Lower East Side, nine-year-old Rettie cares singlehandedly for her younger siblings and her mother, who is ill with consumption, while Rettie's father fights in WWI. Rettie earns pennies by cleaning, but she knows her best chance to earn money is the traditional Ragamuffin Parade that happens each Thanksgiving, where children dress up in old clothes and collect pennies from the wealthy. But with the influenza outbreak growing, the parade may be canceled, and Rettie won't be able to give her family the Thanksgiving dinner she so desperately wants to give them. There's a lot going on here for a picture book, but the story provides a useful first look at hardship, and Gardner's illustrations highlight a moment of brightness in a dark time. A warmhearted holiday tale.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2017 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 2-5-Vivid artwork and a descriptive narrative re-create a vibrant 1918 New York City populated by immigrants struggling to survive an influenza pandemic at the tail end of World War I. Rettie is nine and the oldest of four siblings; she labors to keep their Lower East Side tenement home clean and earns money by washing rags while their father fights in the war and their mother is sick from consumption. Rettie eagerly anticipates the Ragamuffin Parade, in which children dress as beggars on Thanksgiving morning and parade through the streets asking, "Have ya anythin' for Thanksgiving?" Rettie knows the parade may be the only way her family has something special for Thanksgiving but worries that the growing influenza threat may cancel the event. Noble succeeds at conveying the real hardship of immigrant life during the early 20th century while Gardner's artwork breathes vibrancy into the story. His watercolor-and-pencil illustrations reinforce the tone, somber grays dominating one scene where Rettie meets her bedridden mother's eyes. The only bright spots of color are her siblings' clothes and her own patched sweater, as her mother's gleaming gold wedding ring reminds readers that Rettie's father is off fighting overseas. An author's note cites the historical information. VERDICT An excellent historical fiction picture book for older readers interested in U.S. history or Thanksgiving celebrations, this is a timely selection as this year marks the U.S.'s centennial commemoration of World War I.-Rachel Zuffa, Racine Public Library, WI © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

This wordy story offers an ultimately hopeful picture of immigrant children in WWI-era New York City during the influenza outbreak. With a sick mother, soldier father, housework, and younger siblings to care for, young tenement girl Rettie's only opportunity for extra pennies is at the annual "Ragamuffin Parade" on Thanksgiving. Painterly illustrations offer hazy depictions of place, time, and living situation; an author's note offers historical context. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A parade brings good tidings to an immigrant community beset by war, poverty, and illness.Thanksgiving morning on the Lower East Side is a special day for a white immigrant girl named Loretta "Rettie" Stanowski. It's the day of the Ragamuffin Parade, when children dress in rags and collect pennies thrown at them. Nine-year-old Rettie, blonde and rosy-cheeked, needs those pennies because she is the head of her family. Papa is fighting in Europe in the closing days of World War I, and Mama is sick in bed with consumption. Rettie's little siblings are hungry. Complicating matters in the neighborhood are the quarantine signs for the influenza pandemic. Despite all this, Rettie rises to the occasion, receiving compliments from a visiting nurse as she cleans, prepares food, and teaches her little sisters and brother their school lessons. All ends well as the fighting stops, Mama regains her health, and the flu scare abates. Pumpkins and apples adorn the tenement apartment as "a young girl's heart is filled with the hope of Thanksgiving." Noble's tale of parades and tenement life positively brims to overflowing with good cheer, culminating on Thanksgiving Day 1918. Gardner's full-color illustrations depict a bustling community where good spirits overcome bad happenings. All ends well in this parade filled with good spirits and optimism. (photograph, author's note) (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.