The Mouse Buffet: A Christmas Treat
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Della Ross Ferreri, illus. by Tim Bowers. Sleeping Bear, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-5341-1338-1
While the cat’s sound asleep, the mice will... nibble, crunch, and slurp their way through a family’s sumptuous Christmas spread. Four rambunctious, hungry mice climb a chair (“scritchity scrat”) to reach a table laden with a cheery rainbow of desserts—from delicately decorated cut-out cookies to a large punch bowl accented with floating cranberries and orange slices. Potential tragedy strikes when a runaway grape (“boinga boinga!”) wakes the fluffy orange kitty loafing tableside, and the mice tunnel into a tall chocolate cake as refuge. Juxtaposed with the sure-to-pounce cat, scenes of the rodents—who look alternatingly euphoric and frantic—gobbling the kaleidoscope of goodies create a gentle suspense. And Ross Ferreri’s brief and bustling onomatopoeic outing serves up a sudden, surprise ending that’s delicious for all. Ages 6–7. (Aug.)
The Birds of Christmas
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Olivia Armstrong, illus. by Mira Miroslavova. Eerdmans, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8028-5647-0
A desire to serve shines across Armstrong’s version of a favorite European folktale about how the robin got its red breast. Alerted by Raven about the news of the Christ child’s birth, various birds wing across the nighttime sky above a frosty, sleepy Bethlehem to the stable where the infant, portrayed with light brown skin, has been born. Inside, a small, quiet bird hangs back as Nightingale offers the infant a lullaby and Stork plucks its own feathers to create a fluffy pillow. But when the stable’s warming fire begins to dwindle, and mother and newborn shiver, the little bird flaps its wings to fan the flames, catching a glowing ember on its chest that creates “a bright badge of radiant red.” Crisply textured feathers, cross-hatched backgrounds, and whimsical landscapes distinguish Miroslavova’s stylized images, rendered in graphite pencil and saturated digital color, making this “Little Drummer Boy”–flavored story especially inviting. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)
Santa Claws
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Bridget Heos, illus. by Galia Bernstein. Holt, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-250-90949-7
Reptiles from the Cretaceous Period, they’re just like us—at least when it comes to Christmas traditions, according to Heos and Bernstein’s lighthearted snapshot of a T. rex known as Santa Claws. Images in a range of greens and browns, often accented with lush ferns or other flora, feature friendly-faced creatures. Young dinos sit on the lap of the red-hatted terrible lizard, ask for chiseled toys, and leave out scavenged meat for the figure. Though some rhymes are uneven, scenes depicting families making holiday preparations or receiving gifts sustain a joyful energy, and youngest dino fans will clamber to see smiling “Tricera-moms and ’cera-pops/ Hang stockings for tricera-tots” in this punny offering: “Merry Christmas to all—/ I shall try not to bite.” Features fact-filled closing pages. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)
A Dance with Santa Claus
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Sandra Boynton. Little, Brown, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-316-59369-4
Boynton applies her signature wit and clean-cut visual style to this picture book, a jubilant Christmas Eve romp spun off from a song on her holiday album, Cows and Holly. First-person narration comes from a pajama-clad, long-eared gray rabbit with an atypical holiday wish: “a dance with Santa Claus.” Why? Because “he’s OH SO JOLLY!// We could deck all the halls with Buddy Holly!” In the lead-up to the big night (and its gratifying conclusion), verse’s rhythmic repetition conveys the hopeful dancer’s single-mindedness, eager anticipation, and whole-hearted Santa-awe: “I’m putting on my dance shoes./ I really believe./ It’s not about presents./ No, it never was./ I just want to dance with/ Santa Claus.” Boynton fans will find familiar-feeling singsong liveliness at play throughout, amplified by holiday-styled end pages that urge, “Dance!” Santa is portrayed with pale skin. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)
The Christmas Sweater
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Jan Brett. Putnam, $19.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-593-53391-8
A pup’s unloved Christmas gift saves the day in Brett’s homespun tale. After the child narrator’s pug, Ari, expresses disinterest in the elaborately bedazzled dog-size garment the child’s Yiayia knits for her, the youth overcompensates, exclaiming, “I’ll snowshoe to Echo Lake right now, and Ari can come, too, staying cozy in her new Christmas sweater.” But while the pair’s outing starts off with a cheery vibe, the pale-skinned protagonist grows concerned upon discovering the sweater has been lost amid the heavy snowfall that’s also dangerously “obliterating our tracks.” Fortunately, Ari comes to the rescue with the discovery of a snow-buried gold angel that remains attached to the sweater’s unraveled strands, which lead the two safely home. Winding red yarn frames the creator’s signature-style realistic paintings, while side vignettes draw attention to activity happening on the margins of scenes, particularly zeroing in on some magpies who play a key role in creating a closing bit of Christmas magic. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4–8. (Nov.)
The Heart of Winter
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Alessandro Montagnana, trans. from the Italian by Cecilia Ross. NubeOcho, $17.99 (36p) ISBN 978-84-19253-56-9
A fox and robin’s burgeoning friendship propels this gently uplifting holiday tale. Robin Chip loves to spend a northerly winter perched atop a telephone wire alongside his siblings, but the arrival of a Christmas Eve–timed storm results in the bird’s separation from the group. Spotting the lonesome bird from a window, fox Lula comes to the rescue: “Without thinking twice, she hurried outside and invited Chip in.” As the new pals spend a cozy afternoon decorating the house, building snow likenesses, making snow angels, and more, straightforward text sums up their joy (“It was an unforgettable afternoon”), while indoor-outdoor vignettes capture the pleasure the pair feel in one another’s company. When Chip’s avian family returns to retrieve him, empathic text and art alike reference Lula’s mixed emotions until friendship’s bonds, visualized by hearts, supply further holiday magic. Montagnana’s thickly stroked monochromatic artwork is brightened by pops of deep vermillion for an effect that visualizes the warmth provided by connection. Ages 3–8. (Aug.)
The Street Where Santa Lives
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Harriet Howe, illus. by Julia Christians. Tiger Tales, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-66430-075-0
Howe and Christians center community in this likable story about a child’s friendship with a new neighbor who bears a remarkable resemblance to Santa. Naturally, the youth’s family remains skeptical of the neighbor’s identity (“Dad says plenty of older men have white beards. Mom says it’s rude to point at someone’s belly”), but the light-brown-skinned protagonist persists. Though the would-be Saint Nick, portrayed with pale skin, expresses preferences that come as a surprise (favorite animal: not reindeer, but rabbits), some traits do seem to provide proof of potential Santa-ness—especially his ability to fix just about anything, a skill that the whole neighborhood comes to rely upon. When the child discovers that the family’s bearded neighbor has fallen ill, she rallies support from other community members (“Santa needs you!”), with a positive outcome that occurs just in the nick of time. Bright undertones make unlined digital cartoons a joyous affair that ably matches text’s spirited tone. Depictions include figures of varied abilities and skin tones. Ages 3–7. (Sept.)
Merry Mittens: A Moontime Cats Christmas Story
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Jordan Morris, illus. by Charlie Mylie. Candlewick, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5362-3966-9
Christmas comes on little cat feet in Morris and Mylie’s cheerful adventure, which follows a trio of feline friends—and a surreptitious tagalong, seen by readers. In closely hatched colored pencil and watercolor scenes, the kitty clique of Carl, Biscuit, and Peewee set off for snowy mischief on a “brighter than usual” night. Under a full moon, the gang happens upon the nest of a pack rat who has absconded with a shiny star, and redirects their mission to returning the bauble to its rightful place atop the town’s Christmas tree. While celebrating their crowning achievement with a yowling treetop serenade, the three pals finally notice the curious kitten who’s been following them, and know just how to help it find a forever home. The creators purrfectly capture familiar feline antics—batting at jingly ornaments, crowding into an empty box—along the way showing that the kitten distribution system works, even at Christmas. Ages 3–7. (Sept.)
Candy Corn Christmas!
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Jonathan Fenske. Little Simon, $10.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-66597-366-3
What’s striped and sweet and ready to celebrate Christmas? Not many readers would guess candy corn. But in Fenske’s entertaining sugar-fueled romp, “the candy time forgot” across seasons rallies from its spot languishing in a pantry pumpkin pail to discover a household “wonderland of sight and sound”—and the crew of kernels wants in. Crisp rhymes detail the story’s beats (“They mingled with a watchful elf/ that sat alone upon a shelf”), and lively visuals show the anthropomorphized candy corn as they splash in a cup of eggnog, “zip and zoom” through a gingerbread house, and leave sticky residue behind before an angry candy cane tries to shoo them back to their own October holiday. But the arrival of pale-skinned Santa himself—who initially mistakes the candy corn for a new kind of reindeer kibble—settles the matter with a jolly plea for inclusivity. The fantastically festive party that follows is a visual treat for all. Ages 1–4. (Sept.)
Lost and Found Hanukkah
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Joy Preble, illus. by Lisa Anchin. Chronicle, $17.99 (44p) ISBN 978-1-7972-1609-6
“I love Hanukkah. I love how it’s always the same,” says Nate, Preble’s young narrator, who recalls past celebrations with fathers Daddy and Abba. But after moving to a new neighborhood, nothing feels familiar—even Nate’s favorite menorah has gone missing. “How can Hanukkah be Hanukkah with everything so different?” The family’s search for a new menorah leads to an unexpected friendship with a shop owner, a mission to find missing shop cat Kugel, and a new handmade hanukkiah created by Nate—all embodying the core Hanukkah idea of rededication, which Daddy aptly explains as “beginning something again.” Anchin’s slice-of-life watercolor and pencil illustrations capture the narrator’s emotional journey with reassuring warmth, underscoring the transition from mourning familiar comforts to learning that loved ones and cherished traditions can anchor new memories. Nate and Daddy are portrayed with pale skin; Abba has brown skin. Ages 5–8. (Sept.)
