CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY

Two charming country mice reprise the Nativity story with a New York City setting. In her well-written story, Krupinski (My World of Color, p. 487, etc.) introduces Mr. and Mrs. Mouse, who live in a hole in a gigantic Christmas tree that becomes the tree at Rockefeller Plaza. Mrs. Mouse is expecting babies any time, but she and Mr. Mouse set out each night from their cozily decorated home to explore the city. They view the holiday store windows, skate at Rockefeller Center, and take a carriage ride through the snow in Central Park. On that snowy night, they take shelter in a Nativity scene outside a church, and their three babies are born in the manger under the light of a particularly bright star. The mouse family returns with their tree to the country, where they find a new home in a dollhouse. Krupinski surrounds her holiday city scenes with cheery decorated borders, many inspired by quilt patterns for a country-flavored contrast. Children in the New York area are a natural audience for this merry mouse tale, but the appealing illustrations and country mouse-city mouse connection make will help this story travel to cozy story times in any location. (Picture book. 3-7)