Book Review: ‘The Carpenter’s Gift’ 

The story of a young boy who wished for a decent home for his family that comes true in an unexpected way.

By Michael ReynosoPublished 5 years ago • 3 min read

Image Credit to Jim LaMarche

Welcome, Book Readers!

My name is Michael Reynoso, and this is “Writer’s Harmony.”

Today, I will be doing a book review about a Christmas tale about the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree called The Carpenter’s Gifts by David Rubel.

The illustrator of this book is Jim LaMarche.

The story is about a young boy named Henry, who helped gathered Christmas trees with his father to sell them to people in Midtown Manhattan. Henry and his family lived in a house where inside was very cold.

Henry and his father gathering tall Christmas trees.

It was Christmas Eve.

All Henry wanted was a warm house to live in. He never gave up hope and always seemed cheerful about his circumstance. This led to Henry’s father calling him out to help gather some tall Christmas trees to help sell them to people in need in Midtown Manhattan, New York.

After Henry and his father give away the Christmas trees to the hard-working construction workers, they decided to decorate the tallest tree, which is the first Rockefeller Center tree.

The construction workers used tin cans as ornaments, while Henry used a newspaper and created a star to decorate the tree. Henry didn’t want the day to end. What made his day was when the street lamps came on and the cans shined brightly in the light. Henry thought this was a magic moment.

To end the day on a good note, he made a Christmas wish. Henry wished that one day, him and his family would live in a decent, warm house.

Frank gave Henry his own hammer as good luck.

After making his wish, a pinecone caught Henry’s eye and gazed it. He picked it up and rolled the pinecone over in his hands. When it was time to go home, Henry’s father came behind him and said, “Time to go, Sparky.”

And so, Henry and his father said good night to the construction workers and went back home. On Christmas morning, Henry wakes up and sees multiple trucks with tons of wood piled in their trunks.

Through the kindness of the construction workers and fellow neighbors, Henry gets his wish for a nice, warm home to replace his family's drafty shack. As a gift, Frank gave Henry his own hammer and said to him, “It may come handy someday.”

It sure did.

Henry (An Old Man)

After the house was completed, Henry and his family was very grateful. They had a lovely dinner in their new warm home. Henry had his own room and thought about his Christmas wish. He couldn’t believe it came true.

With the kindness of his own heart, Henry planted the pinecone beside the house in the night. He watered it and weeded it. As time passed, Henry grew tall with the tree. He became a great carpenter and build tons of projects with his skilled hands. As time went on, he had a family of his own.

As an old man, Henry thought long and hard to give away his pinecone tree to one of the Rockefeller Center worker. Henry was given so much as a boy and it was time to give back. So, he repays the gift by donating the enormous tree, which has grown from the pinecone, and it became a Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

Henry passed on his hammer to a young girl.

After bringing joy to thousands of people with his Rockefeller Center tree, its wood will be used to build a home for another family in need. In the end, Henry passed down a special hammer to a young girl and echoed the same sentiment that was said to him when he was a boy, “It may come handy someday.”

This was the same hammer that was given to him by Frank when he was a boy. Henry thought that this was a magic moment. This was it.

What an inspiring story!