Children's books for Christmas
Reviews by Carrie Anne Snyder
Bella’s Tree
By Janet Russell, with pictures by Jirina Marton
Published by Groundwood; $19.95; ages 4 to 8.
An original Christmas story set in Newfoundland, Bella’s Tree is quite simply a beautiful book. Russell’s voice is distinctive and quirky, and her characters live and breathe. Nan, portrayed by Marton as bent and enduring, has gone “crooked,” and her granddaughter, the plucky and resourceful Bella, an imp with expressions both brave and lonely, will do everything in her power to make Nan smile. With the help of her dog, Bruno, Bella sets off to cut down a tree, with a real axe, and bring it home in time for Christmas day. The oil pastel pictures are haunting and wintry, and rich with quiet emotion, like the story itself.
This year’s Governor General’s Award-winner for children’s illustration, Bella’s Tree deserves to become a Canadian holiday classic.
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A Coyote Solstice
By Thomas King, with pictures by Gary Clement
Published by Groundwood; $14.95; recommended for all ages.
Coyote’s winter solstice party is interrupted by a mysterious visitor: a girl who claims to be a reindeer, and who says she has come to the forest to find peace and goodwill.
“Good grief, said Coyote quite shaken
For he knew as everyone knows
That people and creatures stopped talking
A couple of eons ago.”
Coyote and his forest friends attempt to return the girl to her natural environment, and to their surprise, discover at the edge of the woods the cultural icon of our holiday season: an enormous shopping mall, where Coyote enacts the greedy delight and subsequent disillusion of the consumer impulse.
Clement’s comical drawings and King’s quietly sly verse merrily carry home a welcome holiday message: There are some things you just can’t buy.
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When Stella Was Very, Very Small
By Marie-Louise Gay
Groundwood; $18.95; ages 2 to 5
This brand-new addition to the Stella and Sam collection offers a new perspective on these beloved fictional siblings. Here is Stella before she became a big sister, swimming in a bathtub that seems enormous, drawing butterflies on the walls and exploring a jungle in her backyard. Marie-Louise Gay’s spirited and distinctive illustrations hold many surprises that complement the sweet, never-simplistic text. Child-readers will relate instantly to memories of being “very, very small,” and will delight as Stella grows “big” and little brother Sam makes his appearance.
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Perfect Snow
By Barbara Reid
North Winds Press; $19.99; ages 3 to 8
“It came in the night. ‘Perfect!’ said Scott. ‘SNOW!’ said Jim.” So begins Barbara Reid’s latest picture book: a celebration of winter, boyhood and outdoor play. Reid’s unique and joyful Plasticine artwork is accompanied by ink and watercolour drawings set in comic-book style on the page. The story captures a whirl of playground activity following a fresh snow. Two grade-school-aged boys plot the marvelous things that they will build at recess, and each discovers the same obstacle: not enough snow to go around. Ultimately, they bring their plans together in a heart-warming and realistic depiction of exuberant cooperation.