If snow falls: A story for December

In the quiet December snow that no one has yet stepped in, a young boy lies in his bed dreaming "of an old man like my grandpa…" The white-bearded fellow runs off to his workshop full of "pots, paints and parrots watching" and sets to work. He makes things in silent secrecy, and then puts them into a big sack. He dons a red suit and hurries off in a sleigh into the night, over the snow that no one has stepped in, off to the boy’s house.This was Jon Agee’s first book. He has since gone on to illustrate a number of children’s favorites ("Dmitri the Astronaut", "The Halloween House") and has a whole collection of fun books on the oddities of language ("Who Ordered the Jumbo Shrimp? And Other Oxymorons" among others). What is a surprise (and a shame, really) is how little known this small, wonderful book is. And it truly is a wonderful book!! It’s colors are slightly muted, giving it a nighttime, dreamlike quality. The text is short (only a few words per page) but so perfectly written that it makes the book feel like a soft holiday poem. It is a physically small book, measuring only a few inches across and tall, which would make it an excellent choice for very young readers or lapsitting.<P...In a world where Christmas tales are becoming more and more about getting STUFF, this gentle book about a small child’s dream when the snow falls comes highly recommended.