cover image The Twelve Days of Christmas

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Jane Ray. Candlewick, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7636-5735-2

Ray brings a 1920s aesthetic to this classic carol with her elegant tableaus. A scarlet-haired young woman, who lives in a brownstone building on a busy riverside street, receives daily unexpected deliveries, care of her true love. As the snow falls outside, her gentle aviary grows (not appearing the slightest bit inconvenienced, she slumbers surrounded by six geese a-laying). Nine ladies dressed in furs and cloche hats dance the Charleston as they pass by on a festive boat, and on the 12th day, the woman’s true love arrives carrying a single rose. A finely detailed and nostalgic interpretation. Ages 3–6. (Sept.)