314. Jingle Bell Joy. Rose Rossner. Illustrated by Aleksandra Szmidt. 2023. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [Picture book]
First sentence: Let's deck the halls with holly and cheer. The jolliest season is finally here!
Follow along in merry measure, Christmas has so much to treasure!
Hark! The celebration is about to begin. Glory to Christmas, that feeling within.
My thoughts (preview): My first thought when seeing this one in person on the library was OH NO, what have I done?!?!?! The amount of glitter on the cover was alarming. Part of me was like can I leave it on the hold shelf and just back away slowly?!?! There were also holly-jolly bears on the cover so I decided to check it out despite my initial misgivings.
Premise/plot: The animal creatures in this holiday picture book LOVE to sing. (Too bad they don't know any of the right words. Oops, that's my personal thoughts creeping up.)
It is written in rhyme. It stars animals--mainly woodland animals. These animals are singing, singing, singing. Each stanza is very loosely inspired by a single line of familiar Christmas carols.
For example, "O come all together, standing hand in hand, rejoicing as one in a winter wonderland."
or
"Joy to the World! The time has come to celebrate each other, no matter where you're from."
My thoughts: Would I feel better about this one if it didn't have glitter? A little perhaps.
Would I feel better about this one if it wasn't so forced into rhyming? Definitely.
Do I want anyone messing around with lyrics? No, not really.
The truth is this one is "not regular." I am almost okay with fooling around with secular Christmas songs like "Jingle Bells" or "Up On the Housetop" or "Deck the Halls" or "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." But I am absolutely NOT okay with fooling around with religious Christmas songs like "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing," "Joy to the World," "O Come All Ye Faithful," "Silent Night."
The author's "inspired" stanza borrowed from "Joy to the World," for example, is so tasteless IF you are a believer who actually, you know, believes. I'll clarify. I am NOT speaking for any other believer other than myself. I am one person. One person does not make decisions for the whole body of Christ. I personally found it distasteful. "The time has come to celebrate each other, no matter where you're from." If you look at it from any other standpoint than looking for rhymes--come and from, then it falls short. Lyrics mean something or should mean something. And the religious Christmas carols are actually truly meaningful and worshipful. The lyrics mean EVERYTHING.
The book, without a doubt, is not meant to be overthought, scrutinized. Who could possibly be offended by the harmless stanzas and verses? (Possibly me.) Do I want to overthink picture books? No. Not really. Did I overthink this one? Absolutely.
315. Santa's Gotta Go. Derrick Barnes. Illustrated by Courtney Lovett. 2023. 33 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book]
First sentence: Last Christmas, the Macks of 4550 Welling Good Lane saw a story on TV about Santa Clau spending some quality time with a family in Boston, sipping hot cocoa and playing video games.
Premise/plot: The Mack family thinks it would be completely AWESOME and AMAZING to host Santa Claus at their house. What could go wrong????? But when Santa actually stays with the family for an extended period of time--a week or possibly two--the family realizes that it is NOT actually that great having Santa as a guest. In fact, Santa is a super annoying house guest.
My thoughts: I liked this one. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. But the good news is is that I didn't overthink it. It was nice to just sit back and read a book in an easygoing way. If this plot hasn't already been used in a movie, it probably should be.
316. The Twelve Hours of Christmas. Jenn Bailey. Illustrated by Bea Jackson. 2023. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book]
First sentence: In the first hour of Christmas, Santa left for me...a kitten underneath the Christmas tree!
In the second hour of Christmas, the twins dressed up to be...two stomping dinos and a kitten...Uh-oh! Where can she be?
In the third hour of Christmas, it's breakfast finally! Three French toasts, two chomping dinos, and a kitten missing from the Christmas tree.
Premise/plot: This picture book is a [great] spin on The Twelve Days of Christmas. The original song can be a bit annoying. This picture book avoids all the annoyances. It's just good fun.
My thoughts: I definitely enjoyed this one. It may be my favorite of the picture books in today's picture book parade. I loved the family. It seems so authentically human. Like this family has been brought to life. It helps that it stars a kitten who appears to be hiding from the rowdier members of the family. I also adored the illustrations.
317. Holy Night and Little Star. Mitali Perkins. Illustrated by Khoa Le. 2023. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book]
First sentence: As the sky grew dark over Bethlehem, Little Star took her usual spot.
Premise/plot: The nativity story told through the eyes of one of the stars in the sky. The Maker has asked his creation--stars, sun, moon, planets, etc.--to make "Holy Night" extra special. Little Star is reluctant but perseveres through her doubts. Little Star has a special role to play in Holy Night and discovers something wondrous--the Maker in the manger.
My thoughts: This one requires some suspension of disbelief. I don't know that I ever really thought about personifying stars--or a star--and telling a Christian story. Yet I don't think the author meant any disrespect to the traditional story. In fact, the book opens with two passages from Psalms--Psalm 147:4 "He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names" and Psalm 148:3, "Praise him, sun and moon; praise him all you shining stars!" Would I have loved the book to use the word God? Or Creator? Or King of All Creation? Maybe. But I don't have a problem with this one. Personal preference is personal preference. And the important things--the incarnation--were handled well.
318. Snowmen's Twelve Nights of Christmas. Caralyn Buehner. Illustrated by Mark Buehner. 2023. 33 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book]
First sentence: On the first night of Christmas
my dog chased up a tree
an elf with a present for me.
On the second night of Christmas
my dog chased up a tree
two tubing twins
and an elf with a present for me.
Premise/plot: Another spin on the song "Twelve Days of Christmas." This one stars ALL snow-creatures.
My thoughts: I really thought the narrative was clever. I didn't care for the illustrations. I almost wish it hadn't starred all snow-creatures. For example, if the dog had been a DOG instead of a snow-dog, I think it would have been funnier. The dog was VERY naughty!!! But I think this one could be very appealing to some readers.
© 2023 Becky Laney of Young Readers
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