Patricia Polacco's Welcome Comfort is Warm and Inviting

Last year, I was introduced to author-illustrator Patricia Polacco via The Trees of the Dancing Goats, a heartwarming picture book about a Jewish family sacrificing much of their Chanukah celebration in order to bring some cheer to their ailing Christian neighbors. This year, I discovered another lovely Christmas tale by Polacco, this one entitled Welcome Comfort.

The book focuses on two people: Quentin Hamp, the jolly janitor who is an homage to a dear friend of Polacco’s, and Welcome Comfort, the boy he mentors after he observes other schoolchildren ridiculing him for his girth. Welcome has spent his childhood being shuffled in and out of foster homes, and Quentin and his wife Martha come to fill a great void in his life where his parents ought to be. Still, come Christmas, Welcome is sullen, convinced the holiday has nothing to offer him, especially since his two new friends are going away for a few days. Quentin disagrees, encouraging him to have a little faith; little does the boy realize how extraordinary this Christmas will be.

Many of the same elements that I so love in The Trees of the Dancing Goats are present in this story: kindness to others, togetherness trumping possessions during holiday celebrations, a child learning important lessons from a caring adult. The illustrations are fairly realistic and follow Welcome and Quentin through many years of friendship, taking the boy into adulthood and the man into retirement. Polacco’s gently drifting snow adds a magical touch to the winter scenes, though the most touching spreads involve Quentin and Welcome spending time together throughout the year. I especially like the painting of the two of them fly-fishing in matching flannel jackets.

While The Trees of the Dancing Goats is thoroughly realistic and is actually based on one of Polacco’s childhood experiences, there’s a definite fairy tale element to Welcome Comfort. The cover, which shows Welcome riding in a sleigh with Santa Claus, ought to be enough of a tip-off that readers won’t be too surprised when the book takes a detour from reality. The parallels between Welcome’s everyday life and the extraordinary secret he carries with him are striking, and one can focus more on one aspect of the tale than the other and still be left with the same lessons.

Believing is seeing. That’s the main message of the book, whether it’s talking about a child’s belief in Santa Claus or an adult’s belief that a child who isn’t valued by society is worth nurturing. Quentin describes the name Welcome Comfort as “the warmest, most inviting name I’ve ever heard,” and it couldn’t be a more appropriate title for this book.