An engaging, charmingly illustrated holiday story.
A girl discovers a magical candy Christmas tree in this picture book.
In the Swiss village of Muttenz, Francyli adores sweet treats. For example, when she ice-skates, she imagines the rink is made of sugar and that her skates are “chocolate with caramel stops.” One winter night, the girl sits under the Christmas tree in the town square. Envisioning that the tree is decorated with candy, she is approached by a squirrel named Sugar. As she tells Sugar about her visions, the critter climbs to the top of the tree and shakes the branches, dispensing sugary snowflakes. Francyli is astonished as the Great Muttenz Christmas Tree becomes covered with “sugared fruits, candy necklaces, chocolates, butterscotch and mints.” She realizes “the best gifts are for sharing” and hollers for her neighbors. As a crowd gathers, Francyli notices her lonely next-door neighbor Herr Schön is missing. She searches for the older man so that he can appreciate the tree, too. Everyone marvels at the magnificent spectacle and snacks on treats. The narrator explains that the candy tree returns every Christmas, enchanting the residents of Muttenz. Stoner’s story is delightful. Readers will enjoy the descriptive language (“Bonbons for baubles…gumdrops for lights…crystaled dreamy delights”). Galstyan’s vivid illustrations depict Francyli as a White girl with “dark brown curly” hair in a cozy, captivating village. The images emphasize wintertime details like Christmas decorations and whirling snowflakes. Pages are frequently adorned with colorful candies and gingerbread people.
An engaging, charmingly illustrated holiday story.Pub Date: Nov. 26, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-954017-00-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Blue Dot Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
What if the market was closed when you wanted to bake a pie? You could embark for Europe, learn Italian en route, and pick up some semolina wheat in Italy, an egg in France, kurundu bark for cinnamon in Sri Lanka, and an entire cow in England (butter) before coming home via Jamaica (sugar) and Vermont (apples). The expertly designed illustrations in which a dark-haired lass journeys by various means to these interesting places to get her groceries are lovely and lively, and the narrative, too, travels at a spritely pace. The journey is neither quite logical enough to be truly informative nor quite bizarre enough to be satisfyingly silly, while the rich, sweet recipe that's appended will take some adult assistance. Still, fun. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 2, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-83705-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1994
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