Christmas Tree

"Christmas Tree" by David Martin. Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Candlewick Press, Somerville, Massachusetts 2009. This is a small book, printed with bright colors on heavy duty cardboard pages. The author, David Martin has a delightful idea. He starts with a single word and single picture: tree, then a bird. Then, a bird in the tree. Then, a mouse...and then a mouse in the tree and you see that the mouse in the tree is a Christmas ornament. As you read, page by page, the clever idea begins to build up and you clearly see that the BALL becomes a bright Christmas ornament. Page after page of brightly colored illustrations. But, then you come to the picture of the "HOUSE" where red-cheeked children have pressed their faces against the window. Turning to the last page, you reach the climax of the book: the tree is in the house, and has become a glorious Christmas tree, decorated with many of the items seen on the previous pages of the book. The people sit around with hot chocolate; they are smiling and warming themselves in front of the fireplace. Some are placing more decorations on the wonderful tree, or placing presents underneath the tree. This is a great book, just the right size for a stocking stuffer. The words and the illustrations build up into a nice Christmas story. The book would be an attractive addition to any Christmas library.