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Holly's Christmas Eve - Full Reviews


REVIEWS

School Library Journal, Starred Review

Watson engages children with a magical Christmas story. When "Bad Cat" is left alone in the living room, he scrambles up the tree and wreaks havoc, shattering several glass balls and breaking off the arm of Holly, a new wooden-doll ornament. After everything is swept up, Holly, Tin Horse, and Cloth Bear set out to retrieve her arm and experience some harrowing trials and tribulations that involve a hairy spider, answering riddles, and a scary dive into the discarded vacuum-cleaner bag. Later, Santa arrives with special gifts for all the ornaments, and he repairs Holly's arm. This is a fun read-aloud with frequent use of onomatopoeic words. Vivid full-page, pen-and-ink and watercolor artwork captures the drama and the satisfying ending to the diminutive characters' adventure.

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Publisher's Weekly

Three tree ornaments-Cloth Bear, Tin Horse and a tiny doll named Holly-have a Christmas Eve adventure when a rambunctious house pet (Bad Cat) swats off Holly's arm. The arm is eventually rescued by the brave trio, who then hurry back to their places just in time for Santa to arrive and reattach it. The sturdy simplicity of Watson's folksy yet radiant art, rendered in the ink-and-acrylics style of her work for Rabbit Moon, relies on the expert use of color to evoke a sense of holiday magic. Ages 3-8.

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KIRKUS REVIEWS

The ornaments on a glowing Christmas tree have a life and adventures of their own in this tale with a cheerful, retro feeling. Holly the doll ornament is the star of the story, and she’s a thoroughly modern miss who solves her own problems and isn’t afraid of anything. Her best ornament pals are Cloth Bear, a traditional sort in a green vest, and Tin Horse, who must be an imported ornament from Mexico because he tosses Spanish terms into many of his comments. The plot centers on Holly’s missing arm, which Bad Cat broke off when he was climbing up the tree attacking the ornaments. The three ornaments search for Holly’s arm, fending off rude, riddle-posing Vacuum Cleaner and a marauding spider, and finally climbing into Trash Can to find the missing limb, which Santa Claus then reattaches. Watson’s (Rabbit Moon, not reviewed, etc.) paintings use a muted palette lit with golden light from candles and tree lights, and she uses heavy outlining, luminous colors, and interesting perspectives to provide strong graphic interest. Though the story is a simple one, the amusing characters, folksy narrative voice, and attractive illustrations combine into a satisfying, if unusual, Christmas Eve tale.

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