The Christmas Mystery ($23.00; Nov. 1996; 256 pp.; 0-374- 12329-2): Intelligent Nativity story by Norwegian philosopher/novelist Gaarder (The Solitaire Mystery, p. 621, etc.), full of heart and warmth. As ever, Gaarder offers a didactic subtext. Joachim's father buys him a homemade, 40-year-old Advent calendar from a dusty bookstore. The calendar has a door to open for each December day leading up to Christ's birth. Behind each door lies a picture. But when Joachim first opens the calendar, a small slip of paper falls out containing a substory that goes on day by day as each door is opened and a fresh sheet appears. The substory tells of little Elisabet, who runs off in pursuit of a lamb only to find herself on a pilgrimage to Bethlehem. Each day's episode adds a new pilgrim to her group, until there are wisemen, angels, shepherds, and sheep; two millennia of history unfold backward. In yet another story, a girl named Elisabet, who was kidnapped 40 years ago, turns up as a middle-aged woman on Christmas Eve, mingling the celebration of Christ's birth with a contemporary event. For adult children.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-374-12329-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1996
In a snowbound Swiss village, Matti figures it’s a good day to make a gingerbread man. He and his mother mix a batch of gingerbread and tuck it in the oven, but Matti is too impatient to wait ten minutes without peeking. When he opens the door, out pops a gingerbread baby, taunting the familiar refrain, “Catch me if you can.” The brash imp races all over the village, teasing animals and tweaking the noses of the citizenry, until there is a fair crowd on his heels intent on giving him a drubbing. Always he remains just out of reach as he races over the winterscape, beautifully rendered with elegant countryside and architectural details by Brett. All the while, Matti is busy back home, building a gingerbread house to entice the nervy cookie to safe harbor. It works, too, and Matti is able to spirit the gingerbread baby away from the mob. The mischief-maker may be a brat, but the gingerbread cookie is also the agent of good cheer, and Brett allows that spirit to run free on these pages. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-399-23444-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201835-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
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