Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2--From high up in the hills, a fir tree stands, dreaming of more. His friend the Robin tries to cheer him up by retrieving a festival's ribbon, but even that does not last long. Then, a year later, he is selected as the town's Christmas Tree. He gleefully dons his ornaments, only to be grabbed at, trampled, and eventually discarded. As an onlooker, the Robin can do little but grant her friend's last wish. In Jameson's retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Fir Tree," the tree has a very different disposition. He has friends, and his curiosity does not stem from vanity. Both trees share the same fate, but the tales have different emotional tones and lessons. Unlike most holiday stories, this version is more bittersweet than cheerful. Only the prospect of nature's continuing cycle will relieve children's minds from thoughts of the tree's fleeting youth and the Robin's loss. Several art styles work in conjunction with the dulcet voice that delivers the elegantly worded half. Creatures and plants have the realism of a natural history illustration. The fir tree has a caricatured face. Delicate lines intricately weave around each other. VERDICT A bittersweet retelling of "The Fir Tree" for all ages. Fans of Jan Brett's written and artistic style will be delighted by this find.--Rachel Forbes, Oakville P.L., Ont.
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Review by Horn Book Review
Dressed up by his friend the robin in flowers, berries, and ribbons, a restless fir tree nonetheless longs to see new places. When the axe-men come, the fir is happy to go with them to be the town's Christmas tree, even though afterward he's burned for firewood. Inspired by the morose events of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Fir Tree," Jameson's retelling benefits from his striking grayscale pencil drawings, digitally colored and enhanced with textural elements such as Celtic knots and Victorian scrollwork leaves. The resulting transcendent folk-art visuals of nature in the Russian-inflected setting will invite repeat examination. Anita L. Burkam November/December 2021 p.23(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This retelling of a Hans Christian Andersen tale follows the fate of a fir tree who longs to experience the glimmer of the human world. One day, in an animal-filled forest, a robin brings red roses into the branches of a fir tree. The fir tree is delighted but wishes he also could go exploring and see beautiful sights like gardens. When a carnival with fireworks is set up close enough for him to glimpse from the forest, the fir tree wishes that he could go experience it. The robin tells the fir tree about the things people build with trees, and the fir tree dreams of becoming a part of a boat and traveling the world. Finally, men arrive in the forest looking for a tree, and they take the fir tree. They set him up in a town, where he is decorated as a Christmas tree. The fir tree is elated but soon becomes exhausted and scared. After Christmas, he is left in a shed, where the robin is able to say goodbye before the tree is destroyed. Like many other Andersen tales, this one is grim. The busy, decorative illustrations combine color with a black-and-white drawing style on a cream background. Such details as the fir tree's face (sometimes visible on his trunk), elaborate filigree on the robin's wings and body, and green, ratlike mice give them a surreal quality. (This book was reviewed digitally.) For hardcore fairy-tale fans. (Fairy tale. 5-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
