Thursday, November 26, 2015

#Review: Milly and the Macy's Parade by Shana Corey/ Illustrated by Brett Helquist #Thanksgiving #kidsbooks



Summary:
It's 1924 and the holidays are approaching. Milly lives in NYC with her Polish family and frolics daily in holiday displays at the Macy's store under the watchful eye of Mr. Macy. But Milly's family misses their homeland and traditions. In an effort to cheer people up, Milly convinces Mr. Macy to combine old country traditions with new American heritage in a celebration for all to enjoy. Everyone agrees that the resulting parade will become a wonderful new tradition. This heartwarming story beautifully captures the creation of a uniquely American event.

My review:
I have watched the Macy's Day parade since I was a child. I wait all year long to watch the parade, just like I waited all year long to review this book. Oh, yes, I did! What better time than on parade day itself.

The book begins before the parade was created with the main character, Milly, an immigrant, whose father works for Mr. Macy. She enjoys everything about Macy's department store as the first couple of pages attest to when she 'reviews' the store for the reader. The book carries through the first parade which is an idea made up by Milly to celebrate the holidays as her family and friends did in their old countries.

In the back of the book, the author notes the similarities and differences within the book and real life. Notably, that no one knows who actually gave the idea for starting the parade, but it was made up of Macy's immigrant workers. The parade ended at the Macy's department store.

Mr. Macy was never involved in any of the parades as he died prior to the first parade ever taking place. However, since it was the employees that created the parade and were loyal to the Macy's store, they named it after him. Of course, we know today that the name stuck and the rest is history!

The book is written on one side and a large picture that sprawls over two pages. The pictures are bold with darker browns, tans, and a splotch or two of muted colors.

To say that I love this book is an actually an understatement. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, this book and it will be a family go to for a long time. 5 Stars!

Disclosure: I purchased this book for my own collections. The views expressed here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Naila Moon


Where to find the author:

Amazon
Goodreads

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