Publishers Weekly
Preaching community involvement, Medina's (DeShawn Days) well-meaning but heavy-handed story traces a boy's changing consciousness of the holidays: "Christmas makes me think/ of how much better it would be to/ .../ visit a turkey or a pig and instead/ of eating one feed it!" The spunky young narrator is appealing, and newcomer Cox's blindingly bright palette contrasts with the usual holiday palette. Ages 5-up. (Nov.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Children's Literature
An African-American boy ponders another way to celebrate Christmas¾by not cutting down a tree but visiting them in the woods, by not getting more presents but giving more to those who don't have any, and "giving homeless people hats and gloves and scarves¾sharing hot soup and songs." This well-intentioned book ends with a list of ways you can help get involved in making your community a better place. Cox's cut paper, paint, pastel and colored pencil illustrations are pleasantly quirky and show well to groups of listeners. While readers won't believe the ring of homeless and privileged people circling a tree together, the sentiment of "thinking about others and not just about me" is a worthwhile if didactic message explicitly stated by the boy. Unfortunately, he rides through the sky in a sleigh that confuses the nonfiction aspect of the story and obscures the books' message. 2001, Lee & Low, $16.95. Ages 4 to 9. Reviewer: Susan Hepler
School Library Journal
K-Gr 2-The holiday wouldn't be complete without a little dose of morality to offset the avariciousness of the season. This well-intentioned story's young narrator considers aspects of Christmas such as baking a cake with Grandma and "presents piled to the moon." Then he thinks of "all those trees that never make it to the next Christmas" and considers "how much better it would be-[to] visit a turkey or a pig-instead of eating one-." By sharing with the homeless and poor, he says, youngsters could become "new Santas." Flat collage illustrations combine cut paper, paint, and colored pencil. A list of "resources for kids who want to get more involved" in community projects is included. More lesson than story, the book may be appreciated more by parents and religious leaders than by kids themselves.-S. P. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Medina (DeShawn Days, p. 868, etc.) offers a misguided Christmas story that is an obvious message to young readers: stop being so materialistic and share the wealth, and go vegetarian while you're at it. A young African-American boy is thinking ahead to the joys of Christmas: extra cartoons during vacation, extra sweets, a huge Christmas tree, and "presents piled to the moon." In a head-spinning, unmotivated change of heart, he suddenly feels sorry for the pigs and turkeys headed for Christmas dinner tables and for all the chopped-down trees. ("How could we pray and sing and wish for nice good things when trees are chopped down for us to hang bulbs and lights on them?") The narrator convinces his friends to share their presents with others less fortunate and to distribute clothing and soup (made with vegetarian broth, we hope) to the homeless, under the banner of "Welcome to the New Santa Festival." A plump pig with a red ribbon around its neck and a jolly turkey join all the children of the neighborhood as they dance around a decorated (and presumably still living) Christmas tree, with the final spread showing the narrator himself flying over the new world order in Santa's sled, minus Santa and the elves. In her publishing debut, Cox provides bright, mixed-media collage illustrations in attractive double-page spreads, but cheery art never saves a dreary story. (author's note, bibliography) (Picture book. 4-6)
