With this holiday-themed book, classic children's author Eric Carle delivers another visually beautiful story. Kids ages two and up will enjoy the animal, counting and Christmas themes as well as the unique aspects of the book, such as plastic pages with white snow that overlay the illustrations, creating the illusion of the drawings being covered with snow. Children will also love when the farmer dresses up in a Santa-like coat to deliver Christmas to his beloved animals by decorating a tree near the barn and placing presents underneath it. The text is repetitive and simple but it's the illustrations that really make this book special.
Although the farmer states at the beginning of the story that he has five animals named One, Two, Three, Four and Five, the reader doesn't find out which animal is which until they turn the plastic page to unbury the animal from the snow. The outline of the animal is visible through the snow, however, and it creates a fun game for kids to guess who is hiding. Plus, kids can follow along and count the animals from One to Five. The final page, complete with an image of the decorated Christmas tree, has a sign that says "Push Here," and pressing the button leads to a pleasing array of tinkling musical notes.
Emily, the little girl I babysit, loves the plastic snow pages and giggled as she turned the page back and forth, covering the animals with snow before peeking at them again. She also decided that the farmer's choice of snack sounded delightful: hot peppermint tea and a slice of bread with honey.
--Abby