Using the classic Christmas carol as a jumping off point, Susan Jeffers crafts a story of a young girl who has a magical Christmas Eve experience with Santa - a dream? a real-life journey? - that involves the twelve traditional gifts from the song. After breaking a special gift she has peaked at ahead of time, and then falling asleep, the girl experiences a magical ride in Santa's sleigh, ending up at his workshop, where she presents the broken present - a snow-globe with a partridge and a pear tree inside - for repair. Magically transported home, she wakes Christmas morning to find the same snow-globe waiting for her underneath the tree..

Although not precisely what I was expecting when I picked it up - I look for picture-book presentations of the classic Christmas carols every holiday season, and have read any number of more traditional "Twelve Days of Christmas" titles - Susan Jeffers book does have some sweet appeal, as a story of a girl who gets to ride with Santa Claus and visit his workshop. The verses of the carol provide the outline for the story, with gifts that "my true love gave to me" being supplied here by Santa Claus instead, and the gifts themselves providing a background to the tale. The artwork is lovely - I particularly liked the girl's expressions at the beginning and end of the story - and captures the feeling of enchantment at this time of year. Recommended to anyone looking for engaging Christmas fantasies for the picture-book set, with the proviso that those looking for a more traditional "Twelve Days of Christmas" search for the versions illustrated by Laurel Long (my favorite), Jane Ray, Jan Brett, and/or Gennady Spirin. ( )

Beautiful illustrations but the added story is odd and not at all necessary. It's a book based on a song and that's ok it doesn't have to be turned into something more. I did appreciate that it didn't repeat the entire song over and over like some book versions do. If you are reading the book you probably know the song and can choose to either sing it to your child or not. I did and I think O enjoy me flubbing it here and there hehe. ( )

Adult Reader Reaction: This wasn't what I expected. I thought it would be a beautiful illustration of the classic song, but it is so much more. Even though there is some text, there are illustrated panels that help tell the story without words. Each image offers something to discover, so plan to linger on them.

Pros: Even if you aren't a fan of the Twelve Days of Christmas song, you'll love the story that is built around this Christmas carol.

To read our full review, go to The Reading Tub®.