A Christmas Sweater for Nina

Heikkilä offers a tenderhearted Christmas story with airy images that evoke the feeling of a world in miniature. Nina the cat lives in a cardboard box on a snowy urban street. Though “the floor was icy and cold air came through the door,” her red sweater is “warm and woolly.” As she wanders through the town—and its plum-colored roofs, smoking chimneys, and behatted animal friends chatting communally—readers will observe Nina’s sweater catching on a branch, then beginning to unravel, leaving behind a trail of yarn. Soon, her belly is cold, and though a mouse tries to alert her to the problem, Nina walks on until there is “only a long strand of yarn left.” Unbeknownst to the feline, Ms. Badger has been gathering the yarn, and when Nina follows the trail, it leads her to a forever home. Readers may be gently encouraged to exercise generosity with others—whether they be on two feet or four. Ages 3–8. [em](Oct.) [/em]