A Birthday Party for Jesus

Little Bunny thinks he knows birthdays, and when he learns that the animals in his snowy forest will be celebrating Jesus’s birthday at Christmas, he tries to figure out what to get him. “Does Jesus want toys, like me?” he asks excitedly. Holland sets the action in warmly lit snowscapes dotted with pine trees; with their beady black eyes and brushy fur, his softly textured animals call to mind stuffed animals. Though initially frustrated, Little Bunny gets a better sense of what Jesus’s birthday is about when he sees the tags on the gifts the other animals have wrapped, which include “hope,” “faith,” “kindness,” and “mercy.” Though the story is theologically vague for the most part (“We love Jesus because he loved us first,” Little Bunny’s mother explains. “Love is the whole reason Jesus was born!”), it’s a fine jumping-off point for more involved conversations about the history of Christmas. Ages 4–6. (Nov.)