Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In a refreshingly modest Christmas story first published in Switzerland, two children take an imaginative journey across a snowy landscape to re-enact the story of baby Jesus. Traveling with a sheep and sled piled up with wood, the impish boy and girl seek shelter behind makeshift doors in the snow: " 'Knock on the next door!' says Mary." Their sled, rested atop the wood, finally serves as the stable where Jesus (a bunny) is born, and a star fills the sky with rosy light. The transitions between the present and conditional tenses can be awkward ("And little Joseph nods. 'Let's go, Kelly,' he says. 'But I would be Mary!' Kelly says firmly"), but Tolman's diminutive figures communicate the spirit of the holiday with ease. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Kelly and her little brother pretend to be Mary and Joseph, journeying to Bethlehem, looking for shelter, welcoming baby Jesus, and thanking the three kings for their gifts. The touching illustrations show the small children wandering through an impressionistic, snowy landscape populated with sheep, bunnies, and other animals, using a sleigh filled with pieces of wood as props in their game. The text is a bit awkward, possibly because of the translation-veering from present tense to the conditional and back again, and sounds stilted in places. Well-meaning but not essential.-Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An adventurous little girl and her younger brother act out the Nativity story with friendly animals in a snow-covered, mysterious land in this intriguing story originally published in Switzerland. The girl, Kelly, and her brother, Franklin, set out from home with a sleigh full of wood pieces, pulled by a sheep. As Kelly and Franklin pretend they are Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem, they move into a strange, snowy world with more animals gradually joining in as the story unfolds. The sleigh and wood magically transform into a stable, and the part of Baby Jesus is played by a white rabbit. Three adults in furry robes arrive at the stable, and though the trio is greeted as the Three Kings, they might also be Father Christmas and the children's parents. They all leave together by sled and sleigh, heading for a brightly lit farm in the distance. The family's home? The North Pole? Much in this story is open to interpretation, which will delight some young readers and confuse others. Watercolor and ink illustrations add to the mysterious atmosphere with tiny figures set against vast backgrounds of snow or skies glowing with special starlight. With elements of magical realism, this story offers a creative, challenging exploration of a Christmas journey. (Picture book. 4-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
