In the Bookcase A Literary Christmas Challenge: Christmas Picture Books Part 1

Christmas Picture Books 

An Alcott Family Christmas by Alexandra Wallner

This book retells the first chapter of Little Women making it about the Alcott family. The moral of the story is kindness counts. Christmas presents come from the heart not from the store. Being an avid fan of Louisa May Alcott, I had to get this book for my nieces from the library before we head to Concord to do some Christmas shopping. I wasn't crazy about the plot or the illustrations. The plot is too sappy and I'm not certain it's even true. I appreciate the moral but in this instance, I found it a bit too much. In Little Women it's a bit less rosy.

I didn't care much for the illustrations. I think they're supposed to be folk art style but they look a little weird to me. May looks lumpy and what color is her hair supposed to be? Bronson is depicted as an old man with stark white hair. While this is probably accurate, it may be confusing for children. Why does the Daddy look like a grandpa or great-grandpa?

A brief bio33graphy of Louisa and a list of her best known books are at the end.

My nieces haven't read this yet.


A Little Women Christmas by Heather Vogel Frederick

This is an excellent adaptation of the section of Little Women following Beth's illness. If you know the story, you know what happens. Even so, this part of the book never fails to move me. The picture book author uses actual dialogue from the novel to pass on the lesson instead of hammering it home in her own words. I appreciated the more subtle approach and of course, any adaptation that uses original dialogue gets extra credit from me. My only quibble is that Beth is not the youngest daughter but the middle. It's an easy thing to misremember but if I was going to adapt such a beloved classic novel, I'd make sure of the details before I did it.

The illustrations are the real stand out. They look so realistic! The illustrations could almost be photographs. The clothing and hairstyles look appropriate to the time period and characters, for the most part. I do question Beth's ringlets but perhaps Meg styled Beth's hair for Christmas. Jo bears more of a resemblance to Winona Ryder than Louisa May Alcott but that's the illustrator's vision. I especially like how careworn the faces of Marmee and Father are without making them look elderly. Father looks like he's been to war and been ill, as is explained in the text. Orchard House stands in for the little brown house where the March family lives-everyone assumes Orchard House is the March family home because that's the museum. True fans know the Alcotts lived at The Wayside next door when the girls were the ages of their literary counterparts in the first part of the novel. (Minor quibble). I am excited to give my nieces a visual cue for Orchard House though so when they see the actual house, they recognize it as the March family home.

This is a must for introduction younger readers to the classic novel. 


Strega Nona's Gift by Tomie dePaola

This book doesn't have the usual charm of a Strega Nonna story. Half the book is an overview of Christmas customs in Italy. Most of them haven't crossed the Atlantic with our ancestors! (We just celebrate La Vigilia). Then the story really begins and it ends quickly. Big Anthony always means well but this time he was told something and did what he was not supposed to do for selfish reasons. Strega Nonna never finds out. I didn't like her gift. It seemed a little cruel though everyone seemed to enjoy it.


The Snowman and the Snowdog by Joanna Harrison

A boy moves into a new home and in his eagerness to explore, he discovers an old hat, a scarf, a shriveled tangerine and some coal hidden in his new room, along with a photo of a boy and a snowman. The boy builds his own snowman just like the one in the photo. For good measure, he adds a snowdog. The snow duo come to life in a magical adventure.

Warning! The dog dies on page 2! This story has words to go with the pictures and therefore kind of lacks the simple charm of the original. The story is magical and fantastical-more so than the original. It is a sweet homage though. The pictures are more rounded and cutesy than Raymond Briggs' original illustrations but they're charming and cute.