The Carpenter’s Gift
About the book
Written by David Rubel in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity and illustrated by Jim LaMarche, The Carpenter’s Gift celebrates an American tradition.
Since 2007, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has been milled into lumber that Habitat volunteers use to help build decent homes with families that desperately need them — families like the ones at the center of the children’s book The Carpenter’s Gift. The story of a young boy in Depression-era New York who wish for a decent home for his family comes true in an unexpected way, The Carpenter’s Gift shares a lesson about helping our neighbors.
Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States and dedicated Habitat volunteer says, “The heartwarming tale told in The Carpenter’s Gift brings together — through beautiful illustrations and a moving, multi-generational story — two great traditions: the Rockefeller Center tree and the neighbor-helping-neighbor program of Habitat for Humanity. The tree annually brightens the Christmas season for millions who see it; Habitat houses brighten the lives of families all over the world — for those who live in them and those who help build them.”