Pick a Pine Tree

Holiday spirit crackles in Toht's warm, step-by-step recounting of how humble stately pines transform into shimmering Christmas trees. Snowy outdoor scenes of tree selection give way to cozy interiors as a family brings its tree home and begins to set up and decorate it, aided by friends. The clipped verse never misses a beat, and Toht stokes gentle anticipation throughout the process: "Add the final touches now--/ garlands strung from bough to bough./ Strands of tinsel on the tips, / falling down in silver drips./ Then... grab a footstool./ Climb right up./ Set something/ wonderful on top." Toht keeps things secular (an angel is mentioned as a possible tree topper, but that's it), presumably aiming for a broad audience, while Jarvis's chalk and pencil texturing adds to the sense of a casual, homey holiday filled with traditions many families will recognize. Ages 3-7. Illustrator's agency: Bright Agency. (Sept.)

Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

PreS-Gr 2—A family visits a pine tree lot to pick out the perfect tree. Rhyming, instructional text accompanies the family as they transport the tree, set it up, unpack decorations, and find friends to help decorate it. For example, on how to decorate the tree: "Stretch along some/twinkling lights, /a colored mix/or simply white...Start up top/or near the base;/wrap around/and tuck in place." Finally, when the tree is crowned with a star, the tree skirt is laden with presents, and the lights are plugged in: "LOOK! It's not a pine tree/anymore. It's a...CHRISTMAS TREE!" Friends and family members gaze at it, awestruck, on a dazzling spread that requires a vertical orientation for added drama. The final scene is a view of the family's house after nightfall, twinkling with starlight and strung lights, and a wish for a "Merry CHRISTMAS, one and all!" The pencil, chalk, paint, and digitally colored paintings are brimming with holiday cheer and warmth. VERDICT Share with little ones prior to decorating a tree or as secular Christmas fare for holiday storytimes.—Shanna Kim, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

The short, rhyming text has a bouncy, appealing tone...Delightful mixed-media illustrations use a flattened perspective, simple shapes, and glowing, light-filled backgrounds for a fresh take on the tree-decorating tradition. The illustrations are all in double-page-spread format with compositions that will work well for reading to a group or with just one child in a lap. Pick this delightful story for a Christmas storytime, for library collections, or for family reading around the Christmas tree.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Holiday spirit crackles in Toht's warm, step-by-step recounting of how humble stately pines transform into shimmering Christmas trees...Jarvis's chalk and pencil texturing adds to the sense of a casual, homey holiday filled with traditions many families will recognize.
—Publishers Weekly

The pencil, chalk, paint, and digitally colored paintings are brimming with holiday cheer and warmth. Share with little ones prior to decorating a tree or as secular Christmas fare for holiday storytimes.
—School Library Journal

Toht's rhyming text is greatly illuminated by Jarvis's mixed-media illustrations, which imbue each step in the process with holiday warmth and capably capture that satisfying, twinkling glow of Christmas decorations.
—The Horn Book