The Magical Christmas Horse

September 26, 2011
Nostalgic paintings and narrative, along with these collaborators’ (Ghost Ship) hefty fan bases, are likely to make this a solid holiday seller. The title is a tad misleading: there isn’t magic attached to the antique wooden horse that Johnny remembers playing with at his grandparents’ Connecticut farmhouse. Having promised his younger brother that the horse will be his Christmas gift this year, Johnny is crushed to find that the horse is missing. Johnny’s a little too good to be true, and the conclusion is syrupy, but Minor’s gouache and watercolor art, featuring his characteristic exquisite detail, gives the book its magic. Ages 4–8.

September 1, 2011

The prolific mystery writer turns her hand to children's Christmas stories with a sentimental tale of a beloved family heirloom that is restored just in time for reappearance under the Christmas tree.

A little boy named Johnny remembers a previous holiday visit to his grandparents' New England farm, where he rode on a white riding-horse toy that had been in the family for several generations. Now he and his younger brother, Liam, and their parents are returning to the farm for Christmas. Johnny has promised Liam that he can ride the family heirloom, but the horse was lent out the previous Christmas and never returned. Johnny finds the dilapidated horse in the attic, and his father and grandfather restore it for Liam. Some elements of the plot are a stretch: The horse looks like it was left out in the snow for a decade or two, and the restoration project is accomplished with unbelievable speed. The text is long and drawn-out, with lots of stated rather than implied emotions and too-obvious symbolism. Minor's accomplished illustrations in watercolor and gouache provide strong visual personalities for the main characters and a distinct setting on the snowy New England farm with its 19th-century stone farmhouse.

Even with attractive illustrations and a Christmas setting, a plodding story doesn't create any magic. (Picture book. 4-7) 

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

October 1, 2011

Gr 1-3-Eight-year-old Johnny is eager to visit his grandparents in their big stone house in Connecticut. He vividly remembers his last trip there when he was three, and his strongest memory is of a beautiful, hand-carved wooden horse. Johnny tells his little brother, Liam, that this year, it will be his turn to enjoy it-but the horse has vanished. Will wishing be enough to bring it back on Christmas Day? This story of a caring family, skillfully illustrated in gouache and watercolor, warmly and effectively conveys the selfless ideal of the season.-Linda Israelson, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2011
Preschool-G The magic in the title of Clark's latest collaboration with Minor has less to do with Santa Claus or elves than with the power of generosity and tradition. As in Ghost Ship (2007), the past has a hold on the book's young protagonist. Johnny is an eight-year-old boy growing up in Arizona, where his famous artist-father paints desert scenes, but he longs for another Christmas at his grandparents' farm in Connecticut. He was last there when he was three, and now he wants his little brother, Liam, to ride the wheeled wooden horse he so fondly remembers. Minor's watercolor-and-gouache paintings capture the appeal of a country Christmas, giving a glow to the farmhouse as well as a sense of warmth and safety. Johnny discovers the horse broken in the attic, but by Christmas morning, Johnny's father and grandfather have somehow restored it to its former glory. This is a prosperous farm of two hundred acres, but what's emphasized is the men's hands-on collaboration for the sake of two little boys.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)