THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS TREE

A vain Christmas tree receives a hard lesson when he’s almost cut down in this picture book.

In a lovely forest, some pine trees get a warning from their father. “Do you see the stumps?” he asks. Noting that only beautiful trees are cut down by humans for Christmas, the father instructs the group to grow ugly and crooked. Little Stevie thinks his father’s story is silly and decides to grow tall and strong. As winter comes, all the trees look peculiar and twisted—except Stevie, who feels proud of his good looks until a family arrives with axes to cut him down. Stevie mourns his unwise decision, but through the intervention of an odd-looking nature spirit, he is transformed into an ugly tree, safe from humans. While Christmas is a popular picture-book topic, this tale seems likely to make children more worried about the ethics of cutting down trees for their homes than about the problems of vanity. The spirit’s introduction at the climax, with no previous hints of his existence, feels like a late plot addition to save the arrogant tree from his mistakes. Still, Pellico’s clear, text-dense tale uses simple sentences and an accessible vocabulary against Newman’s colorful cartoon illustrations, which show humans with different skin tones. The images of the forest creatures and anthropomorphized trees have a Disney-esque feel. The ugly trees show a lot of personality, and kids will root for them to stay together.

A straightforward but strange cautionary tale with vibrant images.