Hilary Knight's the Twelve Days of Christmas

I have four children, ages 8 through 3, and this is their hands-down favorite Christmas book. Well, possibly, all-time book. Each page has tons of details for the kids to notice and find -- even as an adult, I seem to find new things in it each time we read it. And thanks to this book, they are learning all the words to the song.

Hilary Knight's Twelve Days Of Christmas tells of a bear who struggles with an overabundance of holiday gifts from her sweetheart. Whimsical animals parade in each scene as poor Bedelia struggles with a house increasingly filled with odd gifts. The illustrations are especially whimsical.

It's Christmastime, and Benjamin Bear looks out his window, and down the path to his beloved, Bedelia Bear's little cottage, and you can almost see the gift ideas popping into his furry head. So, on the first day of Christmas, he arrives with a partridge in a pear tree, and the fun begins..... Hilary Knight, author of Where's Wallace and The Owl And The Pussy-Cat, and illustrator of Kay Thompson's Eloise books, takes this old familiar holiday song, and turns it into a joyous and engaging picture book. His marvelous artwork, full of bold, bright color, and expressive detail, grows busier, and more intricate with each page turn, until it almost spills off the paper. Young and old alike will be mesmerized as they pore over the pictures, finding something new and fun each time they open the book. With a delightful and creative surprise at the end to get everyone in the holiday spirit, Hilary Knight's The Twelve Days Of Christmas is a wonderful read-aloud book the whole family can share together, and is sure to become a "must have" classic to help usher in the Christmas season, year after year.

I've loved Hilary Knight's work since I was a child feasting on his *Hilary Knight's ABC.* In his *Twelve Days of Christmas," Knight provides an original and meaningful interpretation of the traditional carol. I especially love the way Bedelia returns the "true love" of her beloved gift-bringer by making a fair for him to enjoy--love is reciprocal in this book! The second thing I love about this book is the subplot, in which the raccoon struggles to open the mysterious can, only to find a true love of his own. Finally, the concept of each day as a "pick-up," in which Benjamin brings a partridge and a pear tree (and ensuing gifts) on *each* day, adds a new dimension to the story. Well-planned, beautifully executed, and the finest children's picture book version of "The 12 Days of Christmas" that I've seen.

This is a definte must for the Holiday Season. Wonderful details of a courtship between two bears using the song the Twelve Days of Christmas. Each page is a treasure trove!