Ready to snuggle with some dears for storytime? Try these charmers and make some
holiday memories. Merry! Merry!!
The Night Before
Christmas Deep Under the Sea
by Kathi Kelleher
illustrated by Dan
Andreasen
Holiday House, $16.95,
Ages 4-7
In
a lively and humorous parody of the familiar holiday rhyme, this picture book
is set in an underwater world of oysters, kelp and seaweed, with an expressive
lobster as narrator. The rhyming
text is a perfect rhythmic imitation of Clement Clark Moore’s Christmas poem --
“The moon shells they glimmered like pearls from the glow / Of luminescent jellyfish
gliding below” – the whiskered walrus rides in on a “conch shell sleigh,”
pulled by “eight lively sea horses,” whose sea creature names, like urchin and
snail, he shouts with merry delight.
As
he slides down the poop deck, carrying a bag full of goodies, the red rubber
suited blue walrus looks “like a pirate come hauling his loot.” And the
somewhat cautious lobster has his fears put “to rest without words being said,“
by the “gleam in his eye and a nod of his head.”
The
double page illustrations are oil paintings combined with digital underpainting,
generating an exuberant, animated undersea scene with color zones and underwater
bubbles to accompany the vivid, jolly language. After delivering the gifts, “the flotilla ascended, he
bellowed quite clearly,” the timely and timeless message, “Merry Christmas, my
friends! I love you all dearly!” This
book is a clever and playful addition to holiday story times.
The Carpenter’s
Gift: A Christmas Tale About the
Rockefeller Center Tree
by David Rubel
illustrated by Jim LaMarche
Random House, $17.99, Ages 6-9
Beginning
as a reminiscence, this Christmas tale shows readers an aging Henry, who
recalls Christmas eve 1931, when as a young boy (on the facing page), he helps
his unemployed dad cut and sell evergreen trees from a grove near their unheated
shack. Using a borrowed truck to
drive an hour into New York City, they park and unload with permission and
assistance from the workers at a construction site, earning “enough money to
make the trip a success.”
Giving
the remaining trees to the construction workers, they help set the largest tree
at the site and decorate it with handmade and found objects, creating a magical
moment for young Henry, who keeps a pine cone from the tree, to remember the
day. In a lovely circling manner,
the Rockefeller Center workers show up the next day with leftover wood,
supplies and tools to build a new house for Henry and his family. In gratitude and hope, Henry plants the pine cone, which grows into an enormous spruce in whose shade he works and plays
with his own family.
But
there’s more! And here’s where the
tradition of holiday trees for the Rockefeller Center meets the purpose of
Habitat for Humanity – whose objective and mission is to build simple decent
homes for those without, using volunteer labor. A collaborative story, showing the transformative power of
giving, this picture book with its luminous watercolor and colored pencil
illustrations captures the wonder, not only of the enchanting tree, but of the
faces of the individuals who care to invest their time and energy, changing the
world.
Helpful
end matter tells “About the Christmas Tree at the Rockefeller Center” and
“About Habitat for Humanity International.”
Together at
Christmas
by Eileen Spinelli
illustrated by Bin Lee
Albert Whitman, $15.99, Ages 3-7
On
Christmas Eve, that most bewitching of nights, a family of ten mice
shiver in the snow.
Counting backwards, this rhyming story shows each mouse finding a cozy
place to stay warm – some locations are traditional, like a fallen nest and a
milkweed pod – others are more whimsical, like cattail fluff for an
overcoat.
Well-loved author-poet Spinelli’s
light-hearted language frames the contrasts between the bitter-cold night and
the refuges found by each mouse to cuddle and nestle. Illustrator Lee’s
snow-lit settings counter the sleet-driven darkness, producing a bright,
whirling energy, subtly supporting the cozy, affectionate tone of this tale, in
spite of frigid conditions.
Ultimately the mice opt to be together even
before one of them discovers a hollow log, with a “stash of berries” and “room
for everyone!”
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