The Angels on My Tree

In a melancholy but hopeful holiday story, a girl's Christmas is shadowed by the recent death of her father. Familiar traditions only deepen the awareness of his absence: "We stood side by side looking at our tree and cried. After a while, my mother said, %E2%80%98Let's go surround ourselves with beauty; it always makes us feel better.' " A visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City inspires the two of them to spend the season helping others. For each act of kindness%E2%80%94such as cooking for neighbors or arranging for musicians to play at a nursing home%E2%80%94they place another angel on their Christmas tree. The spare line drawings, permeated with a sense of loneliness, become less so as mother and daughter discover cheer through their generosity; gradually, the images acquire subtle warmth and splashes of pale color. Kaldor wisely keeps the story away from overt sentimentality, instead letting the quiet prose and airy artwork carry the message about letting go and moving forward. Ages 4%E2%80%93up. (BookLife)