Just before Christmas, an organ grinder and his monkey appear on the street corner outside Frances' apartment. Frances can see them from her window and, sometimes, when it's quiet, she can hear their music. She can't stop thinking about them, especially after she sees the man and his monkey sleeping outside on the cold street at midnight. Even when it is her turn to speak in the Christmas play, all she can think about is the organ grinder's sad eyes. Everyone is silent until Frances finds the perfect words to share, just in time.

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

There are 40 pages in this book.

This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+).

This book was published in 2007 by Walker Books Ltd .

Bagram Ibatoulline was born in Russia and educated at the Moscow State Academic Art Institute. His first book was Philip Booth's Crossing , named a 2001 Best Book by Publishers Weekly . He is best known for his books with Kate di Camillo, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane , and Great Joy . Bagram lives in Gouldsboro, Pennsylvania. Kate DiCamillo is the author of Because of Winn-Dixie (Newbery Honor), Tiger Rising (National Book Award Finalist), The Tale of Despereaux (Newbery Medal), The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Boston Globe-Horn Book Award), the Mercy Watson series (Theodore Geisel Honor) and Great Joy (New York Times Bestseller).