This is a different Christmas story. Told from the point of view of Applesauce, a pig, who is looking towards an old shed, all that is left of the buildings on the farm after it was ravaged by bushfire. It's Christmas Eve, and the neighbours, the Shepherds, arrive with their children to check up on Joe and Marigold, who are living in the shed. They camp overnight and in the morning three old aunts arrive bearing gifts of food, and Joe and Marigold finally come out from the shed with their newborn baby.
The story is simple and true to the spirit of Christmas, the setting so unusual and stripped entirely of tinsel and glitter. King's illustrations are superb and at the end there are a few green shoots just beginning to appear on the old tree.

I've always enjoyed the illustration work of Stephen Michael King, and I was delighted to see that he'd paired up with Millard on a picturebook story as well the Kingdom of Silk chapterbooks. ( )