On Christmas Eve - Hardcover

Collington, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0679808302 ISBN 13: 9780679808305

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1990

Synopsis

Dozens of tiny fairies guide Santa Claus to the home of a little girl who lives in a house without a chimney

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

"This book is dedicated to chimneyless children everywhere," reads this book's copyright page--the only words in the entire, captivating story. Collington ( Little Pickle ; The Angel and the Soldier Boy ) has chosen instead to illustrate his fanciful twist on a familiar tale with 140 pictures--each delightful on its own, and positively enchanting in sum. Having penned her letter to Santa, a girl goes to sleep on Christmas Eve--and the magic begins. A tiny fairy confiscates the letter and, finding the door key, admits a band of her winged colleagues. Using candles from the tree, they form a radiant runway for a grizzled St. Nick, who enters via the front door and ascends a candle-lit staircase. As the fairy leader checks off the items, Santa diligently unpacks the requested presents and then trudges off into gently falling snow. The muted tones and intricately lined figures imbue this holiday fantasy with a comforting, old-fashioned flavor. Like the exhausted fairy, seen in the final painting sprawled in an armchair in her tree-trunk aerie, children will believe that this holiday mission has been splendidly performed--ditto Collington's accomplishment. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal:

Colored-pencil drawings in muted shades tell this wordless story of a little girl whose Christmas is aided by fairies as well as by Santa Claus. The dedication "to chimneyless children everywhere" justifies the helping fairies , but readers don't see that the house lacks a chimney until well into the story. A fairy tucks the girl's letter to Santa in her belt and opens the outside door to other fairies who borrow candles to light the way for Santa's sleigh to land. At the girl's bedside, Santa nearly blows his cover when he drops a gift and the sleeping girl awakes to enjoy her presents by herself, an act that some children may find very curious. While this story lacks the poignancy and excitement of Raymond Briggs' wordless classic, The Snowman (Random, 1986), it has its own quiet charm, especially for little girls who will admire the fairy's bridelike dress and the cozy tree cottage to which she returns at the story's end.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0679808302
• ISBN 13: 9780679808305
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32