This beautiful winter book will engage both your senses and your imagination. Written by award-winning pair Kate Banks and Georg Hallensleben, the poetically-written text and rich llustrations evoke a sense of wonder unique to the advent season.
Anticipation and mystery build as we learn that “something [is] coming” but aren’t sure what, exactly. There are things we see, hear, smell, feel, and taste on each page that give us clues: “You could see it in the way the snowman’s eyes sparkled. And in the way icicles dipped in the sun like hourglasses counting the seconds.” There are also small, quiet movements, that “no one heard,” like the “pigs’ little tails curl[ing] in excitement” or the “ears of the billy goat upright and alert” . Though some signs go unseen, however, as Christmas morning arrives, everyone can agree that “something had come.” The story culminates in the birth of a foal, born in a barn whose entrance is wrapped in lights and roof is topped with a star.
Content: 5/5
While this is not, explicitly, an advent book, there are several striking parallels: the animals await the new life of a foal, and after its birth, a mouse (reminding one of the shepherds) scampers away to share the news even as a star appears above the horses’ stall. One might remember the quiet journey Mary and Joseph made to Bethlehem, unknown to most people, and the quiet entrance that Jesus, King of the Universe, made into the world in an unexpected way–among farm animals, in a barn.
Style: 5/5
The story is rich in literary devices and effective writing strategies. Here is a list of a few:
Image: “You could hear it in the crinkle of wrapping paper and the hiss of scissors curling ribbon.”
Repetition: “no one, no one, no one”;
Strong verbs: “hovered” “pressed” “wound” “huddled”;
Personification: “winter air that hovered around doors and window frames”; “stockings asking to be filled”
Onomatopoeia: “Whirled and twirled”,
Consonance-: use of the “w” sound to evoke a sense of wonder and mystery–“the Way the children lay in snowbanks making angels, their arms spread Wide as if to stay, “Welcome.”; ”Or the wide-eyed winter owl who stood watch.”
Similes: “You could see it in […] the way icicles dripped in the sun like hourglasses counting the seconds.”
Design: 5/5
Georg Hallensleben uses rich colors and broad strokes to paint pictures that are more suggestive than specific, allowing the reader to enter softly into the world he has painted. His snowy outdoor landscapes, painted with blues and greys, perfectly capture the hushed wonder of the season, while inside places–house, barn, or church–are rendered in warm oranges and yellows, suffusing the page with light and making the reader feel the coziness of indoors.
Overall: 15/15