Susan Jeffers (2)

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 show more 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. show less

Celebrated children's author and artist Susan Jeffers turns her attention to the ballet The Nutcracker in this lovely holiday picture-book. Pairing a simple text with beautiful artwork (created in watercolor, I believe), she spins the magical tale of Marie, who is given a wooden Nutcracker by her godfather for Christmas. All of the major incidents of the ballet - the battle between the Nutcracker and the Mouse King, the visit to the Land of Sweets, the national dances performed there - show more follow, as Marie's wonderful dream (or is it?) unfolds. The book concludes with the information that the Prince/Nutcracker eventually returns to marry Marie, when she is grown...

Jeffers' The Nutcracker is the sixth picture-book retelling of this tale that I have read, following upon versions presented by Alison Jay, Niroot Puttapipat, Shobhna Patel, Grace Maccarone, and Renate Raecke. I've also read a number of picture-books - Tallulah's Nutcracker, Ella Bella Ballerina and The Nutcracker, Zombelina Dances The Nutcracker - depicting young ballerinas either performing this ballet or learning about it. Suffice it to say, this is a popular topic for picture-books, although apparently in 2007, when Jeffers was considering working on this version, there was far less available. Her presentation is just lovely, and I particularly appreciated the spreads which contained multiple panels, showing various different scenes at once. The paintings here are rich, and quite appealing, capturing the charm of the story, and the detailed costumes and backdrops of each scene. I don't know that this is my absolute favorite, of the retellings I have read - that is probably the Puttapipat version - but it is quite winsome. Recommended to Jeffers' fans, and to anyone looking for excellent picture-books devoted to the story of The Nutcracker ballet. show less

This is a beautiful story of a little girl who would love to own her very own pony. Her parents always tell her she is too young, or there isn't enough money, or there isn't anywhere to keep a pony. Knowing she cannot have a pony of her own now, she allows her imagination to run free, including the ability to create a beautiful pony whose name is Silver.

Silver is beautiful white and shiny like the sun shinning on her skin. She is dappled with white circles and has a bright white mane and a show more long, sweeping tail that is silvery white. As she draws a pony, she creates a beautiful imaginative pony that can fly into the night

Silver comes alive when the little girl is drawing her. And, she believes the horse can fly out of the bedroom window into the night sky.

In the day, she and Silver travel throughout the woods where they smell the pine and stop to see the beautiful clear water. In addition to Silver, other horses join them and now, the girl is surrounded by many who make soft sounds and allow her to pet the beautiful multicolored brown, tan, multicolored, gray, chestnut and roan ponies.

Silver remains by her side, always, even as they gallop through the mountains and across the sky. And even though she knows Silver is a figment of her imagination, still she watches as Silver waits for her outside her window.

Susan Jeffers is an incredible artist. I was once told that drawing horses is one of the most difficult things to make happen on paper. Yet, Susan Jeffers can portray an incredible group of ponies as together they roam by the stream, or soar in the sky, and stay together in a field as magic occurs.

This is a lovely, beautiful book, both in thought and reality. show less

Taking the popular Christmas song, Jingle Bells, as a text, author/artist Susan Jeffers creates an engaging holiday adventure in this new picture-book. As a boy and girl set out on a sleigh-ride across the snowy landscape, they and their little white dog experience a variety of adventures, from a sleigh accident to some encounters with the local wildlife. Eventually they make it to their grandmother's house, where they find that Santa has come to call as well...

Although the text of Jingle show more Bells contains no surprises, the additional story elements that Jeffers creates through her artwork - the upset of the sleigh, in which the boy and girl go flying; the various animals encountered by the little white dog - give it an added sense of adventure, and make the reading and perusing all the more entertaining. The watercolor artwork itself is lovely, ably capturing the beauty of the wintry world through which children and dog travel, while a brief afterword shows all the animals that the little dog encounters. Recommended to Susan Jeffers fans, and to anyone looking for new Christmas picture-books. show less