cbr14bingo Holiday Level 1 & 2
Ho Ho Ho! And big barrel of trouble! Fox in this rhyming Christmas tail, um…tale is a modern-day Grinch. Only after his heart grew, but he is stealing… (No, really! It makes sense really, just read this picture book!)
Hello, Tree by Alistair Heim is a holiday book through and through. It has holiday images on the cover, the story is a rhyming text about all the wonderful holiday things seen in the town. The text itself is terribly short, and 
simple, but clever and catchy. I would totally love reading this aloud to young child or two.
Basically, Fox steals the holiday goodies (the carrot on the snowman, the lights at the Fancy Pants Café). Terribly clever, but simple, illustrations are colorfully and gleefully showing the antics of the mischievous, naughty little fox and the surprised towns folk. Alisa Coburn’s illustrations are the perfect fit for this new picture book.
I was wondering how it would end. Would the town folk get mad? Demand their things back? Or would the fox get away with everything? Thankfully (SPOILER) he does not as the Big Guy himself, one Mr. S. Claus catches him in the act. The three images I like the best are when Santa catches the Fox, when Fox is made to put everything back and sweep up, and the end where everyone is together in the holiday spirit.
The story up to this point was fun, but I admit even I got nervous when Fox was caught! It is the perfect ending and recalls the classic Rankin and Bass movie Frosty the Snowman.
