cover image The Perfect Christmas

The Perfect Christmas

Eileen Spinelli, illus. by JoAnn Adinolfi. Holt/Ottaviano, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8050-8702-4

The creators of The Perfect Thanksgiving celebrate another holiday in this companion book that revisits an endearingly flawed family. Once again, the narrator laments that her clan’s festivities fall far short of their neighbors’: “Abigail Archer’s family/ is perfect as can be./ They drive into the countryside/ to chop down their Christmas tree.” In contrast, “Our tree is artificial,/ completely out of shape,/ with several branches missing/ and one held on with tape.” Merrily underscoring the differences between the two households, Adinolfi’s quirky mixed-media art is a playful jumble of geometric shapes and holiday motifs. Ages 4–7. (Oct.)