A CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE

Everyone knows that the animals are gifted with speech on Christmas Eve, but LaFarge makes the mistake of extending this gentle convention to some highly unsavory characters, especially Pinky the pigeon who kidnaps Dan's little brother Matthew in midtown New York. There's one terrifying moment when Matthew is discovered ringed by a horde of chanting, frenzied rats, but Iris rescue, with the help of Ophelia sparrow and Victor horse, is conducted with so much idle chatter that the scene seems a disproportionate, top-heavy climax. And both the kidnap plot and its ultimate thwarting are so thinly motivated, that one realizes that even talking animals ought to have some whys and wherefores for what they do.