My Wonderful Christmas Tree
by Dahlov Ipcar; illus. by the author
Preschool, Primary    Tilbury    40 pp.
9/24    9781668945087    $18.99

In a creative echo of “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” Ipcar describes the snow-covered fir tree outside her window on a clear Christmas night. Atop the tree is “one shining star”; after this, she counts the creatures that inhabit it—two black bears, three bobcats, and so on, culminating with twelve black-capped chickadees. The illustrations, vigorously drawn and painted in rich, warm colors on full-bleed double-page spreads, are accompanied by a rhyming text with many child-appealing details. The five raccoons are “bold little bandits with neat black masks”; the eight gray squirrels have “small feet frisking, soft tails whisking.” Originally published in 1986.

From the ">November/December 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.