December Books, Day 15: Two Duchess Books by Virginia Kahl

Plum Pudding for Christmas, written and illustrated by Virginia Kahl, 1956

Gunhilde's Christmas Booke, written and illustrated by Virginia Kahl, 1972

When characters from a book series appear in a Christmas volume, it's unusual to find them in another one later on. There's one Jeanne-Marie Christmas story, one Lonely Doll Christmas story, one Church Mice Christmas book, and so on. But Virginia Kahl did two holiday books featuring the characters from The Duchess Bakes a Cake (a book that's familiar to homeschoolers using the Five in a Row curriculum).

Plum Pudding for Christmas opens

just before Christmas and frosty and cold,
And the castle, though drafty, was bright to behold,
For the girls and the Duchess had gathered some holly.
"If your father were here, it could really be jolly.

Yes, '50's style rhyming stories. Sorry about that. Sometimes the rhymes work well in these books; occasionally they clunk.

The problem is that, with the Duke away, the Duchess and her girls decide to invite the King for Christmas dinner, but suddenly discover that they have no plums for the pudding. (Even though there aren't really plums in plum pudding?) Their search involves consulting a wizard, which will rule out the story for some readers; but he can't conjure up plums anyway, so it looks like the feast will be ruined...until the mandatory "surprise" ending.

What a wonderful Christmas,
with good things to eat,
Boars' heads and pastries and cakes for a treat.
Holly and mistletoe cheered up the gloom
And the Yule log burned brightly to warm up the room.

Gunhilde's Christmas Booke opens on a slightly darker note: "the Duchess, the Duke, and their cook and their daughters" are out for a ride on a boat, when the weather becomes stormy. They are blown to a strange shore and are met by a gang of unfriendly, Viking-looking men who lock them in a dungeon. Not a very cheerful beginning for a Christmas story.

But don't you cry, girls, don't you fret;
We'll have a jolly Christmas yet.
For here is a thought you should try to remember
Each year when it's nearly mid-December:
Whenever there's snow upon the ground,
Wherever the family's gathered 'round,
Wherever goodwill and love abound,
That's truly where Christmas is to be found....
"Just what would you do," asked a guard with a sneer,
"If you were at home, and you weren't locked up here?"

Aha--that's the point. You see, Gunhilde has brought her Christmas Booke of traditions along, and she's only too willing to tell the guards all about it. The family joins in with their favourite songs, suggesting recipes, telling stories about animals that speak at midnight, and showing the Viking Dudes how to dance.

Then their captors exclaimed, "If we're willing to free you,
Will you hurry home? Then we'll all come to see you."

Awww...Crayons says she loves this book.