The Man Who Walked the Earth

by Ian Wallace

Blowing dust is about all you can see from a farm on the prairies in the 1930s. Even worse, Andr and Elise's father has gone in search of work and he may not be home for Christmas.

The day he left their mother set an extra place at the table in case a stranger should come by looking for a meal. "Wherever your father is, I hope someone will set a place for him," she says. Eight months later no one has come to their door.

Then on Christmas...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0888995458
• ISBN13: 9780888995452
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Groundwood Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 11.0" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 4 to 7 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 2

Customer Reviews

a wonderful Christmas fable

Another simply told tale from Ian Wallace. His text is spare, straightforward, and compelling. The illustrations, like so many of his, are evocative of place and time, with enough detail to make us feel the homeliness of the house and its inhabitants. The warmth of lamplight spills into each scene, guarding us and the characters of brother and sister and mother against the harsh cold of the out of doors, really of the world. The arrival of the stranger out of the cold, his magic tricks, his presentation of gifts, and his departure happen so fluidly that we, too, are caught up in the surprise and delight of his visit. The best of his gifts brings this story to its close, and we want to read it again to recapture the magic.