Lara Hawthorne

English artist Lara Hawthorne turns to the classic Austrian Christmas carol, Silent Night (Stille Nacht in the original) in this lovely new holiday picture-book. Using the words of the carol as her text, she tells the story of the Nativity in her artwork, which depicts a diverse range of dark-skinned people starring in the various roles. A brief afterword gives a history of the carol's creation, and the full lyrics (in English)...

This edition of Silent Night is an engaging presentation of show more the carol, one that is particularly notable for its artwork. Beautiful in its own right, with a folk-collage feeling that I found very appealing, it is also quite welcome in its depiction of a more diverse cast of characters. I can see how readers wanting a less European-looking Nativity story would gravitate to Hawthorne's retelling, although I do have to chuckle at the frequent claims I have seen, in online reviews, that this is a more "authentic" depiction, given the fact that the peoples of the Levant are no more African (which many characters here look to be) than they are European. Leaving that issue aside, Silent Night is one I would recommend to anyone looking for beautifully-illustrated picture-book presentations of Christmas carols. show less

This picture book tells the nativity story through pictures and lyrics from "Silent Night." It's a very nice concept, and I love love love the illustrations, which will go a long way to de-Europeanize this story for your kids, if that is a thing you would like to do. This setting is very clearly the middle east, and the people in the story are very clearly of northern African, Middle Eastern, and Asian descent, as they should be. Recommended. Another for the nieces.

This picture book for children three and up begins, “There was once a small, quiet town that overlooked a brilliant blue ocean.” We then meet Alba, a bright orange reef fish in that water, who is fascinated by all the trash she finds, thinking it must be “treasure.” But she gets stuck inside a plastic bottle. Fortunately the bottle washes up on shore and is discovered by a little girl named Kaia who helps Alba get out of the bottle. But Kaia is dismayed by all the trash in the water, show more and declares “We’ve got to clean this up.”

Kaia organized the whole town to work together “to clean up the mess they had made.” Bit by bit, the sea began to get safer again for the creatures who lived in it. Kaia then felt it was okay to release Alba, who went back to her reef, “which was becoming busy and bright again.”

A closing double-page spread gives thumbnail descriptions of some of the creatures (“Alba’s ocean friends”) shown in the reef pictures. One additional page provides simple tips on “Taking Care of Our Oceans,” such as “Avoid using plastic products.”

The author, who is also the illustrator, uses stylized art work with bright colors, albeit with the unfortunate choice of printing at least half the text on a dark blue background, making it hard to read.

Evaluation: The rescue by Kaia is extremely unrealistic, as are some of the tips which are not really geared to the very young intended audience, such as “Never pour harmful chemicals down the drain.” Nevertheless, the story may help kids to understand that their actions and choices have consequences they may not have considered, and that it is good to think of others besides themselves. show less

English artist Lara Hawthorne, who previously created a beautiful picture book presentation of the classic Christmas carol, Silent Night, turns to another beloved holiday song in this lovely volume. The words of The Twelve Days of Christmas provide the text here, and are paired with Hawthorne's folk-collage style illustrations. A two-page spread at the rear of the book offers young readers a chance to search and find all of the gifts mentioned in the song...

I have something of a weakness for show more picture book presentations of Christmas carols, and I enjoyed Hawthorne's Silent Night, so when I discovered the existence of 12 Days of Christmas, I immediately sought it out. Unsurprisingly, I found it quite lovely, and enjoyed perusing it. My favorite picture books based upon this carol are the outstandingly beautiful ones created by Laurel Long and Jane Ray, although the versions done by Anna Wright, LeUyen Pham and Alison Jay are also gorgeous, so this one had some stiff competition. I don't know that I would rank it up with these others—it's solidly appealing, but doesn't stand out to me. That said, admirers of the artist's work will undoubtedly appreciate it, and I did like the fact that the human figures depicted were quiet diverse. If the reader can only seek out one or two versions of this carol in picture book form, I would strongly recommend the Laurel Long and Jane Ray titles. Otherwise, I recommend this one to picture book readers looking for engaging titles featuring The Twelve Days of Christmas, or Christmas carols in general. show less