A Cobtown Christmas: From the Diaries of Lucky Hart - Hardcover

Julia and Robert Van Nutt have been working together for twenty-five years. During this time, they have worked on numerous design jobs, from freelancing for The New York Times to working on sets and costumes for a Broadway play. In the last ten years, they have designed eight children’s books and six animated videos that were shown on national television.
The Van Nutts use history to guide them as they write and illustrate their Cobtown stories. With an amazing cast of characters and an in-depth study of everyday life in the 1840s, these stories–inspired by a hobby of collecting electric trains–take place in the village of Cobtown.

A nostalgic look at an time gone by, this winsome Christmas tale is suffused with warmth and glad tidings. The diary of Lucky Hart tells of the miraculous events of Christmas, 1945, following some bleak days, when a lost blind man speaking a foreign language shows up in town, a curiously exhausted stray dog appears, and the pump organ is broken, which means that Lucky won't be able to sing the much anticipated ``Cobtown Hymn.'' The blind man and his dog are reunited, and he plays the hymn on his musical bells. The Van Nutts, through Lucky's observations of the townspeople and their preparations for the holiday, skillfully evoke a sense of daily life during this period. Clippings of recipes, railroad tickets, and whimsical sketches from the diary's pages contribute to the sense of realism. The December 24th edition of The Cobtown Observer printed on the front and back inside covers provides engaging anecdotes with a period feel for readers to peruse. The illustrations depicting a quaint village and homespun entertainmentse.g., a skating partybreathe life into Cobtown and its inhabitants. A generous slice of Americana. (Picture book. 4-10) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.