On Christmas Eve, Grandpa's three-legged dog, Mr. Biggins, wanders off to chase deer on the wooded mountainside near Grandpa's cabin. Lizzie's worried; she and her grandfather decide to find the dog. Donning winter coats and snowshoes, they begin their upward hike. They hunt all day, but Mr. Biggins never shows up. As night approaches, they make a fire, cook supper, and build an igloo to keep them warm through the night. In the middle of the night, Lizzie dreamily sees Santa flying overhead, above the igloo's air hole. The next morningChristmasbig, wet dog kisses wake Lizzie up. Mr. Biggins is back, and Grandpa, who's cooking bacon over the fire, has made Lizzie a present that helps the two of them return to his cabin in record speed. Without lapsing into nostalgia, this refreshing tale offers readers a breather from the barrage of holiday commercialism. Nature, homemade gifts, and loved ones are the elements that make yuletide joy here. Kiesler's paintings, evocatively blurred by the sifting of ever-present snowflakes, capture the essence of the natural magic of this outdoor Christmas Eve. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 21, 1995
ISBN: 0-395-69626-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1995
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BOOK REVIEW
The leaves have changed, Thanksgiving nears—and the canny turkeys of Squawk Valley have decamped, leaving local residents to face the prospect of a birdless holiday. What to do? They decide to lure a bird back by appealing to its vanity, placing a want ad for a model to help sculptors creating turkey art, then “inviting” the bird to dinner. The ploy works, too, for out of the woods struts plump and perky Pete to take on the job. Shelly debuts with brightly hued cartoon scenes featuring pop-eyed country folk and deceptively silly-looking gobblers. Pete may be vain, but he hasn’t lost the wiliness of his wild ancestors; when the townsfolk come for him, he hides amidst a flock of sculpted gobblers—“There were turkeys made of spuds, / there were turkeys made of rope. / There were turkeys made of paper, / there were turkeys made of soap. / The room was full of turkeys / in a wall to wall collage. / For a clever bird like Pete / it was perfect camouflage.” He makes his escape, and is last seen lounging on a turkey-filled tropical beach as the disappointed Squawk Valleyites gather round the table for a main course of . . . shredded wheat. Good for a few giggles. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-890817-91-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2001
Categories: CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS
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A pair of cardinals is separated and then reunited when their tree home is moved to New York City to serve as the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
The male cardinal, Red, and his female partner, Lulu, enjoy their home in a huge evergreen tree located in the front yard of a small house in a pleasant neighborhood. When the tree is cut down and hauled away on a truck, Lulu is still inside the tree. Red follows the truck into the city but loses sight of it and gets lost. The birds are reunited when Red finds the tree transformed with colored lights and serving as the Christmas tree in a complex of city buildings. When the tree is removed after Christmas, the birds find a new home in a nearby park. Each following Christmas, the pair visit the new tree erected in the same location. Attractive illustrations effectively handle some difficult challenges of dimension and perspective and create a glowing, magical atmosphere for the snowy Christmas trees. The original owners of the tree are a multiracial family with two children; the father is African-American and the mother is white. The family is in the background in the early pages, reappearing again skating on the rink at Rockefeller Center with their tree in the background.
A touching, beautifully illustrated story of greatest interest to those in the New York City area. (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7733-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
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