ONE CHRISTMAS WISH

Little Hedgehog and his friends return to realize the Christmas wish of a couple of baby mice.

The friends are all at Little Hedgehog’s enjoying some pre-Christmas cheer when the mice observe falling snow through the window. Their hopes of making snow mice on a white Christmas are dashed, however, when it melts the next day. Little Hedgehog points out that there is still a little bit of snow, and they decide to find what they can and carry it home in Little Hedgehog’s stocking cap, rendered in red flocking on every page to add a tactile element to the reading. They pack the hat full, but on their way home the baby mice give some to Grandpa Squirrel to decorate his tree and some to the Beavers for a snowball fight. The remainder—along with the hat—is put to use as a cold compress when Fox sprains an ankle. The ending is as predictable as it is sentimental: The baby mice are praised for their selflessness, and Little Hedgehog works hard to make Christmas “magical” for the baby mice with sparkly decorations. (The snow-mice ambition is elided.) Macnaughton’s outdoor scenes feature bare branches and snowy mountains in the background, but the spring-green grass looks distinctly unseasonal, and the pattern of snowmelt will strike many as unrealistic.

A weak holiday entry for Butler and Macnaughton’s prickly pal.