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Summary
Summary
Oh no! Emma is in trouble!
In this new version of the classic song, Santa comes to the rescue.
Susan Jeffers's artwork sparkles with the excitement of a magical journey, revels in the fun of the twelve preposterous gifts, and brings us home in time for a joyful Christmas morning.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-A little girl sneaks a look at a wrapped present on the night before Christmas-a snow globe of a partridge in a pear tree-and accidentally breaks it. Falling asleep, she dreams of Santa giving her a ride on his sled, during which he gives her two turtledoves and all the rest of the traditional gifts in the song. Arriving back at his workshop, he repairs the broken gift, and the girl wakes up to Christmas morning to a wrapped-up, unbroken snow globe. The dream setting of Santa's sleigh above snowy rooftops makes as good a backdrop as any for those odd gifts, from fussy French hens to swans startling the milkmaids and their cows (all wearing fluffy bonnets). Families looking for a singable version of the song will be disappointed, but they will likely enjoy the story and the exuberant, oversize illustrations.-Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In the spirit of her 2007 The Nutcracker, Jeffers reinterprets this classic carol, creating a narrative to bolster the song. While snooping on Christmas Eve, Emma discovers a gift from Santa-a snow globe containing a partridge in a pear tree. After she breaks it, she curls up in a chair and dreams that she and Santa accumulate the full complement of gifts from the song while winging his sleigh toward the North Pole. The watercolor-and-ink paintings create an air of holiday magic, and the fantastical parade of gifts thrums with activity and attention-grabbing details, from the eight maids a'milking, whose bonnets match those of their cows, to the dapperly dressed and ethnically diverse lords and ladies who dance across pages bedecked with jewels. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Jeffers reimagines the traditional song in a contemporary setting with a magical element. On Christmas Eve, Emma furtively unwraps a delightful present: a partridge in a snow globe. She trips and breaks it, then cries herself to sleep and dreams of Santa whisking her awayescorted by two turtledoves, three French hens, and all the rest in a joyous paradeto his North Pole workshop to repair her gift. The watercolor and ink illustrations swell from panels in the framing story to lush, detailed double-page spreads during Emmas twelve days with Santa. The miraculous Christmas-morning ending comes as no surprise but is satisfying nonetheless. katie bircher (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Jeffers has created a lovely story incorporating the words of the old folk song with one important change: a clever substitution of Santa as the giver of all the gifts instead of the narrator's "true love." A little girl named Emma is the star of this version, and in a dramatic opening sequence, she surreptitiously opens a package on Christmas Eve with her name on it. The gift is a box decorated with pictures of Santa's reindeer, and inside is a musical snow globe with a little partridge and a tiny pear-tree branch. After Emma accidentally breaks the snow globe, she falls asleep, heartbroken--and the reindeer magically fly out of the gift box, pulling Santa's sleigh behind them. Emma climbs aboard, carrying the box with the snow globe, and she is off with Santa, flying on a magical odyssey to find all the animals and characters mentioned in the song. They end up at the North Pole, where Santa repairs her snow globe while Emma is sleeping. When Emma opens her presents on Christmas morning, her intact snow globe is a satisfying surprise. Jeffers uses her signature style to great effect, with varying perspectives, detailed costumes, and light reflecting off snowy surfaces and sparkling jewels (plus Emma's pet Westie). A whimsical, magical interpretation of a holiday classic, improved by the additional storyline and the charming narrator. (artist's note) (Picture book. 3-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
The familiar holiday song gets a lovely twist when a little girl finds an early Christmas present a snow globe containing a partridge in a pear tree which she promptly drops. Unhappy and exhausted, she falls asleep and dreams that Santa Claus takes her to the North Pole. Each spread adds one of the familiar elements of the song (though fortunately without the repetition). French hens fly through the air with Santa, 8 maids milk in the snow, and 12 pipers pipe the duo into the workshop, where Santa fixes the globe. Has it all been a dream? Christmas morning, a gleaming globe shows it has not. With some sparkle on the cover, and graceful (and often amusing) artwork on the inside, this brings new life to an old favorite.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2010 Booklist
