The Christmas Bus by Robert Inman with illustrations by Lyle Baskin (Novello Festival Press, $19.95)
In a delightful new holiday story, the North Carolina author presents the charming Mrs. Frump and her brood of children living at the Peaceful Valley Orphanage. Some townspeople--especially Board of Trustees members Ethel, Myrtle, and Hortense--carp about Frump's lack of control over the mischievous orphans. But Frump rightly figures "The Hooligans," as they are called, need unconditional love, not harsh discipline.
When Frump concocts a plan to have each child celebrate Christmas with a real family, she borrows and decorates a rickety old bus to transport them. She fails to get permission for this jaunt, however, and Sheriff Snodgrass and the three busybody board women give chase.
Along the way, the busload of orphans encounter the Traveling Troubadour, a young fellow on the road who is trying to make a name in music before settling down with Darlene. His peeved girlfriend wants only a reliable beau, not a wayward wanderer. Will the fleeing orphans be caught? Will Frump be fired? Will Darlene take back her boyfriend? It all ends happily ever after, of course, as all Christmas stories should. --Nancy Dorman-Hickson
