Jingle Bells

Reviewed by: Sheila Dube - Springvale Public Library, Springvale, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 8, 2015

Review

A bear family rides a horse-drawn sleigh through the woods picking up various forest animals along the way to a choral singing around a decorated Christmas tree at the edge of the forest. The last page shows Santa flying away with six reindeer by the light of the moon. The text is the traditional Jingle Bells chorus in the first two-page spread, one verse with each line on a different two-page spread and the chorus in full on the last page. Children will be drawn to this gift book because of the red speaker button at the bottom of the right page which plays a fast instrumental version of Jingle bells. Unfortunately, the music is only the chorus and does not play the verse which compromises the central part of the book. While Siewert's oil and watercolor illustrations show movement, setting and expressively happy animals, amid the numerous holiday books available, this is not a standout selection.

Overall Book Score: fair