The Gift of Words

Written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

Orchard Books (Scholastic)

978-1-339-00034-3 

40 pp.

Ages 4–8

October 2025 

 

While most of Canada still hasn't seen snow since last winter, and many are still ramping up their decorations and party plans for Halloween, there will be some who are starting to think about the winter holiday season. Jerome, Peter H. Reynolds's lexicographer from The Word Collector (2018), is inspired to collect some holiday words, sure that he will find words of hope and of joy that he might share with those he loves. What he finds is surprising.

From The Gift of Words, written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

With his bright yellow notebook and accompanied by his dog Ekko, Jerome checks out words posted throughout his town. Words like "Buy" and "Sale" and "Low Low Prices" do not inspire the good feelings he'd hoped to find. 

These words left Jerome feeling cold.

From The Gift of Words, written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

When he looks beyond the shops, he finds even more distressing words. There's the newsstand where headlines scream about war, poverty, and disasters. And the people he encounters are demanding and hating on the weather and frustrated with others.

 

Jerome's solution is to share inspiring words rather than find new ones. After all, he is a curator of words. So, finding a joyful assortment, he packs up several large bags and pulls them on his sled to the downtown park. There he invites others to join him in decorating a tree with positive words and messages.

 

A word collector's tree.

A tree of hope.

A tree of dreams. A tree of wishes. 

 

From The Gift of Words, written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

Soon the tree is festooned with words of positive actions like "Smile" and "Listen," and of feelings like "Joy," as well as messages like "We can make more light together" and "Together we can." With that tree, with those words, and with his community, Jerome is able to share and help others participate in the gift of words.

 

Peter H. Reynolds has always be a fabulous patron of goodness, inspiring young readers with his picture books that promote self-expression (Happy Dreamer, 2017), love (All We Need Is Love and a Really Soft Pillow!, 2023), empowerment and activism (Say Something!, 2019), creativity (The Dot, 2023), and so much more. With The Gift of Words, Peter H. Reynolds not only promotes a lexicon of heartfelt words and messages, but he also makes us stop and think about the unpleasant communications with which children are bombarded daily. Sadly, there is much of this troubling content, especially during the holidays when commercialism and selfishness abound. Thankfully, Peter H. Reynolds addresses it with a lover of words and that child's pursuit of finding joy in the season. 

From The Gift of Words, written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

Still, the overall feeling of The Gift of Words is one that uplifts. It's one of community and positivity. And Peter H. Reynolds gives us all the children and community participating in making things right. Everyone has the opportunity to be included and to contribute. And all you see is joy in their faces and in their activity. Peter H. Reynolds gives us colour and kinship through his characters and his whimsical tree of hope, dreams, and wishes.

 

Get your students and children in the right holiday spirit with a reading of The Gift of Words and thinking about their own inspiring holiday words—Scholastic has a couple of activity sheets here to help—before the holiday season starts, and the toy and tech commercials begin to bombard them. Help them find the goodness within their community and their place in contributing to it. Help them make this holiday season one of heartfelt sentiment that might sustain them throughout the year.

Activity sheets available for The Gift of Words at Scholastic (https://www.scholastic.com/site/peter-reynolds.html)

The Little Ghost Quilt's Winter Surprise

Written by Riel Nason

Illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler

Tundra Books

978-1-774885376

48 pp.

Ages 3–7

Releases August 26, 2025 

 

It might seem odd reviewing in August a book that involves winter but, when it's nearing 30°C outside, it's nice to think about the loveliness of snow and cold temperatures and the celebrations that bring us joy. For the little ghost quilt, introduced in Riel Nason and Byron Eggenschwiler's first collaboration The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt (2020), winter brings new experiences and joys too.

From The Little Ghost Quilt's Winter Surprise, written by Riel Nason, illus. by Byron Eggenschwiler

While his ghost sheet friends are shivering with the cold, the little ghost quilt is able to comfortably withstand the temperatures and the snow. He enjoys the same indoor activities as they do—making crafts, playing games and reading "boooooks"—but he wishes they could share in outdoor adventures as well. One December evening while visiting a human neighbourhood, the little ghost quilt is drawn to bright lights and joyous celebrations. He sees decorated trees, inside and outside; people skating and singing and baking cookies; and everything looking shiny and bright. He is saddened to think his friends are missing out on all this. So, the little ghost quilt with his big heart plans to do something for his ghost sheet friends. 

From The Little Ghost Quilt's Winter Surprise, written by Riel Nason, illus. by Byron Eggenschwiler

But on his way back home, the little ghost quilt is caught in a terrible winter storm and is snagged on the branch of a birch tree. He does get free, but the storm and that tree give him an idea about how to implement his plan with what they have available.

From The Little Ghost Quilt's Winter Surprise, written by Riel Nason, illus. by Byron Eggenschwiler

I'm delighted to review a picture book by Riel Nason whose only books that I have reviewed to date have been YA (i.e., All the Things We Leave Behind and The Town That Drowned). But, just as she demonstrated in those young adult novels, Riel Nason gives her characters depth of feeling for others. For the little ghost quilt, he's quite cognizant of the fact that his quilt gives him warmth and protection while his friends, in their skimpy sheets, have neither and must stay indoors. Yet, with his freedom to engage in outdoor activities, the little ghost quilt still wants to share his experiences with his friends. He doesn't gloat about his opportunities. Instead, he appreciates what he is able to witness and thinks about how he can share with others. Riel Nason has given a patchwork-quilt ghost the benevolence to which we should all aspire.

From The Little Ghost Quilt's Winter Surprise, written by Riel Nason, illus. by Byron Eggenschwiler

It's impossible not to feel the weather and the joy that the little ghost quilt experiences on his winter outing. Byron Eggenschwiler's pencil and digitally-rendered artwork takes us into the dullness of winter and makes the colours of the holiday season shine. By emphasizing the dreariness of the winter with a muffled environment of snow and dirt in colours of grays and browns, Byron Eggenschwiler keeps the focus on the goodness and the cheerful, in other words on the quilt colours of the little ghost and on the Christmas celebrations and those enjoying them. 

While you may not be thinking of winter or Christmas yet—times when The Little Ghost's Quilt's Winter Surprise will be a must-read—this picture book is more than a seasonal tome to share with young children. It's a story of kindness and compassion; it's a book about understanding what others are experiencing and how to help expand the scope of their lives. (Can I use the word "lives" for ghosts?) Because of the little ghost quilt's good will, he's able to bring the light to the actuality of his ghost friends both in spirit and in illumination and thus bring the essence of Christmas to all.

Lemming's First Christmas

Written by Jamesie Fournier

Illustrated by Tim Mack

Inhabit Media

978-1-77227-543-8

28 pp.

Ages 0-5

October 2024

 

Avinngaq (lemming in Inuktitut) lives under a house and hears children singing, "Santa Claus is coming to town." When she asks Qimmiq (a sled dog), he tells her that Santa Claus puts presents under the tree. That just leads to more questions because Avinngaq doesn't know what a tree is. And so begins Avinngaq's quest to ensure Santa Claus visits her.

From Lemming's First Christmas, written by Jamesie Fournier, illustrated by Tim Mack

Qimmiq has a simple explanation about a tree–"It grows out of the ground, and you decorate it"–and he goes with Avinngaq to find one. The other Arctic animals bring forth what they suggest might be a tree. From Natsiq (a ringed seal) who brings some seaweed, and Tuktu (a caribou) who brings a purple saxifrage, Qimmiq can only tell what is not a tree. Other animals include Tiriganiaq (an Arctic fox) and Ukaliq (an Arctic hare) but it's not until Avinngaq rests on a piece of driftwood that Qimmiq confirms she's found a tree.

From Lemming's First Christmas, written by Jamesie Fournier, illustrated by Tim Mack

So, the friends decorate the driftwood with the seaweed, the purple saxifrage, arctic willow, and berries, sing, "Santa Claus is coming to town" and are delighted to find presents under the tree the next morning.

From Lemming's First Christmas, written by Jamesie Fournier, illustrated by Tim Mack

For our very youngest children, Lemming's First Christmas would be a bright beginning to the holiday season. Of course, they'll start singing the song too and it could get tiresome for the next seven weeks but maybe you could break that up with a reading or two of Lemming's First Christmas and some discussions about Arctic animals and plants, about cultural traditions, and even the magic of the holiday season. Jamesie Fournier, a writer in Iqaluit, keeps the story positive and simple, which is perfect for an early picture book–it has thicker pages and a reinforced cover–while introducing them to the Arctic and its plant and animal species, and teaching them a few words of Inuktitut. (A double-spread at the back posts the Inuktitut names and their pronunciations along with illustrations of the animals depicted.) It's very sweet and all the more so for Tim Mack's illustrations. I've reviewed several books which Tim Mack has illustrated (It's Time For Bed and What's My Superpower?) and his cartoon style of digital art will resonate with very young readers. His characters are cute and recognizable, and even if unfamiliar with an Arctic environment, children will recognize the play of shadows at night, the magic of snow and stars, and the quest for answers from those we know.

From Lemming's First Christmas, written by Jamesie Fournier, illustrated by Tim Mack

Get into the holiday season in a gentle way with Lemming's First Christmas. It's an easy introduction for those who may become overwhelmed with the customs of the holiday and let them see it from the perspective of a group of animals who interpret a tradition in their own way and make it a very sweet first Arctic Christmas.

 

 

How to Decorate a Christmas Tree

Written by Vikki VanSickle

Illustrated by Miki Sato

Tundra Books

978-0-735268586

40 pp.

Ages 4-8

October 2023

 

We always decorate our tree about a week before Christmas so I'm right on target for my family for the reading of this book. But Vikki VanSickle and Miki Sato's picture book How to Decorate a Christmas Tree will resonate with anyone who has ever decorated a tree at Christmas, whether early or late, because of the familiarity of the task and the heart which is embedded in it.

From How to Decorate a Christmas Tree, written by Vikki VanSickle, illustrated by Miki Sato

We may all have our own way of preparing a Christmas tree for the holidays, but certain steps are always needed.  First, the tree must be gotten, whether from a forest, a store, or a storage area. This family waits until it's cold to pick up their tree but, depending on where you live, this might or might not be feasible. Inside, the tree is released from its bindings, placed in the cleared area, and the first sensory experience begins. Ah, that fresh scent!

From How to Decorate a Christmas Tree, written by Vikki VanSickle, illustrated by Miki Sato

With each new step, from unravelling the strings of lights, to retrieving the ornaments and placing them one at a time on the tree, the family must be cautious of the tabby cat that likes to get into things and under things. And as the family places each ornament on the tree, some handmade, some store-bought, there is a memory and an emotion that comes with it. It could be a memory of a time, or a place, or a person, or a feeling, but each ornament touches them as they place them gingerly and strategically upon the tree. And each story is told to a little one in a playpen too young for this year's endeavour but included just the same.

From How to Decorate a Christmas Tree, written by Vikki VanSickle, illustrated by Miki Sato

You could Google "how to decorate a Christmas tree" online and you would probably find hundreds if not thousands of sites to help. But, Vikki VanSickle, who has written everything from picture books to middle grade and young adult, whether humourous, realistic fiction, romance, or speculative fiction, doesn't make this a one-size-fits-all story. She's not telling you how you must decorate. Instead, she lets us glimpse in the window of one family as a little girl tells her baby brother everything that they do and why and what it means. She's sharing and making a Christmas for all to remember.

From How to Decorate a Christmas Tree, written by Vikki VanSickle, illustrated by Miki Sato

Illustrator Miki Sato's watercolour and cut-paper art gives the texture that makes How to Decorate a Christmas Tree something more special. Whether she makes the ornaments that appear tactile though in only two dimensions or gives us a popcorn strand so real that we can smell its popping in the air, Miki Sato brings us into that living room to open boxes, delicately handle fragile memories, and to enjoy the comfort of family.

Whether you decorate your Christmas tree with a cat in attendance or a dog, with popcorn or tinsel, with homemade ornaments or store-bought bling, your tree will be perfect because it's yours, created with love and memories of Christmases past and future, and always family, whether present or not. Merry Christmas!

 

From How to Decorate a Christmas Tree, written by Vikki VanSickle, illustrated by Miki Sato

Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive (Scaredy's Nutty Adventures)

Written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt

Tundra Books

987-0-7352-6961-3

88 pp.

Ages 6-9

October 2023

 

In six perfect chapters, Scaredy Orville Squirrel (abbreviated appropriately as S.O.S.) prepares for Christmas. Starting in July, he makes a checklist to ensure a perfect holiday. Once December arrives, it's time to start checking things off his list. With a little help from his friends– Ivy, a rabbit, Rash, an armadillo, and Timber (Tim), a beaver–Scaredy gets to work with decorations. A mishap with a toboggan almost has their tree festooned in pickles and clown noses, but with some effort and a lot of paint, they get the perfect decorations.

 

Next Scaredy Squirrel enlists his friends to secure the area from holiday troublemakers like nutcrackers, abominable snowmen, last-minute shoppers, and elves.

 

From Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive, written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt

His plan for a gingerbread house that will last forever–though Ivy questions that intent with "Seriously? I doubt gingerbread can last past Easter"–is put into action to construct a sturdy, albeit inedible, masterpiece.

From Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive, written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt

While Scaredy has already gotten the perfect gifts for his friends, he gets to wrapping them as they debate what to get for him. Then it's only his Christmas Eve get-together, prepping for Santa's visit, and waking to Christmas morning surprises. Though he couldn't plan for everything, it still is a perfect Christmas for Scaredy Squirrel.

Two things about Scaredy: he's always prepared, and he always does things with safety in mind. Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive is loaded with checklists, plans, files, instructions, and profiles that ensure that things get done and done well and in a timely fashion. From "Scaredy's Christmas TO-DO List" to his instructions on "How to Wrap the Perfect Gift," Scaredy has it covered. (Mélanie Watt even gets the reader primed for Scaredy's predilections with "The Holiday Reader Quiz" before the story even starts, just to make sure the reader is prepared to proceed to the next pages. I got 5 points.)

From Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive, written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt

As we learned in the first Scaredy Squirrel book, Scaredy is always scared about his safety, and that's why he insists his friends wear painter's suits when painting, why there's a fire extinguisher handy, why they wear masks while varnishing, and why he's so prepared. Still, with his friends who are all a little bit different, whether calm and wise, or bold and impetus, Scaredy is both given reasons to continue to be cautious and reasons to indulge a bit more.

Mélanie Watt has always taken a tongue-in-cheek approach to Scaredy's overcautious nature. Children reading her stories, whether the original picture books or whether the chapter book graphic novel series Scaredy's Nutty Adventures, will both see the wisdom of Scaredy's caution but will laugh at his extreme reactions, from panicking and playing dead when supposedly exposed to a pointy elf or wearing gloves to prevent paper cuts when wrapping gifts. They'll be familiar with many of activities Scaredy and his friends undertake in Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive and so will understand both the nature of his fears and the silliness of his responses, regardless of whether they are brash like Rash or guarded like Scaredy.

From Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive, written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt

The stories and the humour within have and will always delight young readers, but it's all so much more when Mélanie Watt adds her artwork. Her heavily-outlined characters and objects make them pop off the page but also complement the bold text of Scaredy's lists and instructions. There is nothing subtle about the illustrations or Scaredy so anything less than bold, bright, and lively just wouldn't work. Moreover, Mélanie Watt knows how to add the humour into her drawings, like the helmet Rash undoubtedly needs to wear to keep him safe, the cat mask Rash dons when he can't find a respirator mask when they're varnishing, or Rash's roving toad Chucky who seems to pop up in unexpected places. 

 

It's just the right time now to start your holiday season off, and, with Scaredy and his friends, it'll be easy to get festive. Just watch out for those pointy elves, and Gary the germ, and those last-minute Christmas shoppers, and...

• • • • • • • 

 

Scaredy's Nutty Adventures series

Scaredy Squirrel in a Nutshell

Scaredy Squirrel Gets a Surprise

Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive

The Twelve Days of Christmas: A Celebration of Nature

By Briana Corr Scott

Nimbus Publishing

978-1-77471-097-5

32 pp.

All Ages

November 2022

 

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas out there: snow on the ground, nip in the air and Christmas songs on rotation. It may be a little early for counting down the advent calendar or the twelve days of Christmas–technically between December 25 and Epiphany–but the joy of art in Briana Corr Scott's new picture book is a lovely way to herald the joy of the season in the natural world.

From The Twelve Days of Christmas: A Celebration of Nature by Briana Corr Scott

Nova Scotian artist and author Briana Corr Scott maintains the traditional symbols of the twelve days: the partridge, turtle doves, French hens, calling birds, golden rings, geese a-laying, swans a-swimming, ladies dancing, lords a-leaping, pipers piping and drummers drumming. But she embeds them in a natural world of birds and other animals, playing with the words and their meaning. For example, though the milkmaids are often depicted as young women at their farm task, Briana Corr Scott has eight monarch butterflies working milkweed. The drummers are northern flickers, a common drumming woodpecker of Canada. And the ladies are ladybugs on flowers of echinacea and mums among other plants. The words are familiar, but the images are uniquely of the natural world–as explained by Briana Corr Scott in her afterword–and bustling with the life of the outdoors.

From The Twelve Days of Christmas: A Celebration of Nature by Briana Corr Scott

Briana Corr Scott uses gouache and oil paints to create these lovely double-spreads of ethereal scenes of fauna and flora, often using rose, teal, and gold to emulate the warmth and coolness of nature. As with her earlier books–Mermaid Lullaby, Wildflower, The Book of Selkie, and She Dreams of Sable Island–Briana Corr Scott keeps us in the outdoors, contemplating the interactions between plants and animals and the interrelationship of all living things. This could have been a counting book for young kids–and it could still work that way–or a fun predictable read because of the repetition of lines, but when the detailed art is the highlight, with amaryllis, Christmas cactus, cygnets and more hidden in the illustrations,  The Twelve Days of Christmas becomes the celebration of nature Briana Corr Scott intended.

From The Twelve Days of Christmas: A Celebration of Nature by Briana Corr Scott

Santa ABC

 

Written and illustrated by George Fewster

Collins

978-1-443466059

26 pp.

Ages 3-7

October 2022 

Santa definitely has an important job but is that all that he's about? Does he do any other jobs? What does he feel?  In this playful board book, George Fewster takes children–though older readers will enjoy it just as much–through the ABCs of Santa in all his forms.

From Santa ABC by George Fewster

From an astronaut and barista, to Viking and zombie, George Fewster shows us a multitude of active and feeling Santas. Santa may be wearing an ninja outfit or dancing to disco or experiencing ennui and hanger–hunger and anger–but Santa is always still Santa, adorned in red with candy cane-striped props and spreading his "Ho Ho Ho" greeting.

From Santa ABC by George Fewster

Author-illustrator George Fewster takes Santa into the 21st century, engaging in contemporary activities and interests that many children will recognize, even if it's only through their families or teachers. And while they'll be learning the alphabet, the objective of this kind of concept book, they'll learn a few words and definitely smile at this talented Christmas character.

From Santa ABC by George Fewster

They'll especially smile at George Fewster's illustrations. His bold colours and clean lines will be much appreciated by young readers. Because of the unmistakable depictions–except for Ennui Santa–Santa ABC can become a guessing game, as well as an alphabet activity, a visual literacy lesson and more. Perhaps that's why, though Santa ABC is a concept book in board book format aimed at our youngest readers, it will be just as entertaining for older children. If you're a parent of a young child or a Kindergarten teacher or ECE, Santa ABC will definitely meet its goal of playful learning of the alphabet, especially with a favourite theme of Christmas and Santa. (George Fewster has a colouring page and word search based on the book at https://www.georgefewster.com/morestuff.) But, teachers of older students could benefit from using Santa ABC as a template for fun alphabet activities, with students creating their own alphabet books based on Santa or other characters, especially when challenged with coming up with a theme such as feelings, or sports, or history. The possibilities are endless, as George Fewster has demonstrated.

From Santa ABC by George Fewster

Whether your children are learning the alphabet or would love a lively romp through a menagerie of whimsical Santas, George Fewster's debut picture book will be a fun lead-in into the holiday season and lesson launcher for all.

Snow Days

Written by Deborah Kerbel

Illustrated by Miki Sato

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-135-9

24 pp.

Ages 2-5

November 2020

In modest rhyming text and textured paper-collage artwork, Deborah Kerbel and Miki Sato invite young children and their families to join them outdoors to celebrate and explore the snow of winter.

From Snow Days by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Miki Sato

First snow, surprise snow:

Nature's sparkly magic show

Deborah Kerbel begins her story with the delight of children taking in the first snow of the season. With arms upraised and mouths agape, perhaps to catch a few of Miki Sato's extraordinary snowflakes, the warmly-dressed children revel in the splendour of the snow. Of course, in Canada, there will be more snow days, and the next brings a little more that accumulates and allows for snow angels, both of the two-legged and four-legged varieties.

From Snow Days by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Miki Sato

There's skating and watching snow fall from the warmth of inside, shovelling and building snowmen, sliding down banks and throwing snowballs. And always,  Deborah Kerbel shines some attention on the different kinds of snow. Whether it be powder snow or packing snow, blizzard snow or Christmas snow–a particularly special kind– or even frozen snow and slush and sleet, Deborah Kerbel invites little ones to savour each as a sensory experience of touch and feel.

From Snow Days by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Miki Sato

But winter always comes to an end.

Last snow, tame and shy,

Winter's quiet wave goodbye

With the receding snow allowing snowdrops and the first crocuses to shoot, Deborah Kerbel lets us see the turnover to the next season, resplendent in its own emerging glories.

Miki Sato's three-dimensional illustrations, created with cut-paper collage, reflects Deborah Kerbel's textured text, making us feel the iciness of packed snow and the dampness of mittens, amidst the piles of different snows. Just as each snow day is different, Miki Sato's children and landscapes are as varied and diverse. Who interacts with the snow are a few adults but mostly children of all ages, colours, and abilities, including a young child with skates on the wrong feet and one with glasses. As for the snow itself, it blankets parklands and backyards, congests driveways and brings Christmas to dense housing divisions.

 

With our own snow days upon us, enjoy Deborah Kerbel and Miki Sato's exploration in words and art and even consider the handful of experiments for very young children suggested at the end. It may be a little cold and get a little wet but the adventure will be worth it.

The Boy Who Moved Christmas

Written by Eric Walters and Nicole Wellwood

Illustrated by Carloe Liu

Nimbus

978-1-77108-911-1

32 pp.

Ages 6-10

October 2020

 

Evan Leversage was a real boy and this is a true story about him and his family and a town that helped advance a much-loved holiday to delight a dying boy.

 

According to the moving account in "A Word from Evan's Mom" at the conclusion of The Boy Who Moved Christmas, Evan had been diagnosed with a brain tumour when he was just a toddler. He endured years of chemotherapy and monitoring of the tumour which had stabilized, that is, until late 2014 when it was discovered that the tumour had grown. Evan braved more intense chemotherapy and radiation but by the fall of 2015, the doctors prepared the family for the worst. 

 

Evan's mom, co-author Nicole Wellwood, and his brothers Logan and Tyson, and others were determined to fulfill Evan's wish list of simple pleasures, including having one more Christmas together. On their new Christmas, October 19, there was a decorated tree up in the living room with presents under the it and Christmas lights festooning their house. And then the magic started. As the three boys looked out their picture book, snow began to fall.

 

From The Boy Who Moved Christmas by Eric Walters and Nicole Wellwood, illus. by Carloe Liu

 

 

 

 

 

After donning his official police jacket, as an honorary police officer, Evan with his family and close friend were driven on a tour of their small town of St. George by Officers Ken and Danya. Everywhere there were lights and decorations and signage wishing Evan and his family "Merry Christmas." With carols playing and the streets busy with people, the town had a festive atmosphere.

From The Boy Who Moved Christmas by Eric Walters and Nicole Wellwood, illus. by Carloe Liu

But the main event would not start until Evan was back home. Once there, he and his family sat in chairs along the roadside and enjoyed the miracle of a Christmas parade that came a few months early just for Evan.

From The Boy Who Moved Christmas by Eric Walters and Nicole Wellwood, illus. by Carloe Liu

There were fire trucks and police vehicles and paramedics. There were countless floats and walkers costumed as angels and elves, nutcrackers and clowns. There were bands and music, candy and bubbles. And then came the man who represents Christmas to so many children: Santa. To Evan's surprised delight, he was invited to sit with the great man.

“Everyone is so happy to see you, Santa!” said Evan.
Just then, someone called out, “Merry Christmas, Evan!”
Santa looked down at him. “Seems like they’re more excited to see you, pal.”
Evan’s smile got even bigger.
It was Christmas.
Christmas in October. Christmas for Evan.

Evan Leversage may have died before December 25 of that year but, courtesy of a family and a community of good people, he had what he declared to be, "the best Christmas!"

From The Boy Who Moved Christmas by Eric Walters and Nicole Wellwood, illus. by Carloe Liu

In a story taken from the headlines but given warmth and heart with words perfect for young readers, Eric Walters with Nicole Wellwood have told us about the boy who moved Christmas. He is both ordinary and extraordinary. He could be any child and yet he was most assuredly Evan, a boy who derived pleasures from being with his family and sharing Christmas with them and others and who could mobilize the affections of many with his story alone. The emotional power of this young boy's life with the naturalness of how he lived it is echoed in the illustrations by Halifax's Carloe Liu. Her signature watercolours give a brightness in the bold colours of Christmas but also an ethereal quality in the softness of her line and shape.

I'm glad Evan was The Boy Who Moved Christmas, but this was not an event borne in self.  It was Evan's selflessness that inspired others to do for him so I'm glad that everyone–Evan, his mom, his brothers, his family, friends and those who never knew Evan–got to enjoy this special Christmas together. Moreover, five years after that memorable day, young readers can now learn of his story and appreciate what happened and why and how, and perhaps be moved to their own acts of altruism. That would be yet another gift from Evan, by way of Eric Walters and Nicole Wellwood's The Boy Who Moved Christmas.

Sounds Like Christmas

Written by Robert Munsch

Illustrated by Michael Martchenko

North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

978-1-44317-582-1

32 pp.

Ages 3-8

October 2019

Christmas should be a time of love and giving and family and celebration. But for many this seasonal holiday is a time to consume and outdo others in gift-giving and in displays of lights and such.  In Sounds Like Christmas, Robert Munsch with his celebrated illustrator, Michael Martchenko, takes on the competitive sibling rivalry of Lincoln and Georgia as they decorate the family Christmas tree with an odd assortment of unconventional ornaments that create noise, each child trying to outdo the other in their selections.

From Sounds Like Christmas by Robert Munsch, illus. by Michael Martchenko

After Grandma, busy with her baking, asks her two grandchildren to get off their devices and decorate the tree, the two set to work with lights and garland, candy canes and balls. But when Georgia adds a raucous woodpecker to the tree, it sets off a competition between the siblings for bigger and louder. Lincoln adds his large sound effects key chain, and Georgia her talking doll. Lincoln adds the neighbour's barking dog and Georgia grabs her exasperated, and hence loudly yelling, Grandma and sticks her on the tree. The tree becomes a cacophony of

Tweet! Tweet! Tweet!
Bzap! Bzap! Bzap!
Ma-ma! Ma-ma! Ma-ma!
Woof! Woof! Woof!
Aahhhhhhhhhhhh!

From Sounds Like Christmas by Robert Munsch, illus. by Michael Martchenko

But before things can be put to right, their grandfather with his snow blower, both making a clatter, get perched on the tree top and Michael Martchenko displays it all on a double-spread that requires the reader to turn the book sideways to appreciate the vastness of the noisy tree.

From Sounds Like Christmas by Robert Munsch, illus. by Michael Martchenko

With their Grandpa's familiar threat to many children at Christmas about no presents, and most of the noisy "ornaments" quietening down, Lincoln and Georgie withdraw to the kitchen to do their own Christmas cookie baking, sure in their knowledge that Santa Claus is the one to bring gifts. A final illustration reveals a surprise for all except for Lincoln and Georgian, undoubtedly safely tucked away in their beds.

Robert Munsch brings the ridiculous to the ordinary as he has done in so many of his  stories, whether classics like I Have to Go (Annick, 1986) or newer titles like So Much Snow! (Scholastic Canada, 2016). Here he brings Christmas together with enlisting the help of children and just reveals what many of us have known all along. Getting kids to help out may be the hard part for some parents and teachers but it's not surprising to discover that their help isn't always as you envision it. Of course most people would not tackle a job as we might–and that doesn't make it wrong, just different–but by giving a story in which two children go to extremes to ensure an incomparable tree with audio, Robert Munsch gives us a holiday tall tale based in a reality we all know.

It's always a delight to see Michael Martchenko's illustrations accompanying Robert Munsch's words. For many, there is no other illustrator for his works. Michael Martchenko's watercolour illustrations know how to meld the real with the wacky, here showing us kids playing on their technology (their body language is so authentic!) and then displaying a grandmother hanging from the tree by her apron strings. Except for the odd assortment of vocalizing adornments, this could be anyone's Christmas, for those who choose and are fortunate enough to have a tree to decorate.

Happy decorating for the holidays!

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

A French language edition, Vacarme de Noël, is also available from Scholastic Canada.

Vacarme de Noël by Robert Munsch, illus. by Michael Martchenko    9781443175838