The 12 Days of Christmas

October 18, 2010
As she did in The Night Before Christmas, Isadora uses her trademark collages to reinterpret a holiday standby, setting it in a jubilant African village. Several of the book's flourishes, Isadora notes in an afterword, are inspired by her travels, from five gold rings (worn around a South African woman's neck) to "lords a-leaping" and "ladies dancing" who hail from Mali and Swaziland. Small, accumulative icons that reference the gifts from earlier pages keep the text light and the focus on Isadora's always-vibrant artwork. Ages 3–5.

Starred review from September 1, 2010

Isadora continues her series of traditional tales (and now, a song) reset in Africa and illustrated with her visually arresting collages that incorporate African fabrics. The words of the song are familiar, but in this interpretation, the maids milk goats and the lords are masked dancers from Mali. Each spread is a surprise: some with children, some with animals, some showing homes or farm yards; the 11 pipers piping parade silhouetted against a setting or rising sun in one gorgeous double-page spread. The clever design uses a rebus format with tiny thumbnail reproductions of all the previous pages to aid in singing along. In all, this change of setting gives the old song new zest. A map and author's note give the locations of many of the illustration sources. (Picture book. 4-7)

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Starred review from October 1, 2010

PreS Up-The familiar holiday tune gets a fresh presentation, with Isadora's signature style and verve. The book is set up as a rebus, which means even pre-readers will be able to figure out what's going on. Despite its very European pedigree, the song lends itself well to an African setting. The "five golden rings" refer to the rings worn around the necks of women in South Africa, the "lords a-leaping" come from Mali, and the "ladies dancing" come from Swaziland. The illustrations, done in oil paint, printed paper, and palette paper, are fabulous. This altogether pleasing package is great for a storytime presentation or one-on-one sharing.-Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2010
Grades 1-3 Following up her The Night before Christmas (2009), Isadora transplants another holiday chestnut to Africa, illustrating the traditional lyrics with infectiously festive scenes of animals and people placed beneath a huge, radiant sun and rendered in brightly colored, kente-patterned cut-paper collage. The settings are generalized but not generic; the ladies dancing, lords a-leaping, and drummers drumming display a range of skin tones and facial features plus distinctive styles of West and South African regional dress, which are identified at the end with a map and note. Along with exuberant shapes and hues, the pictures feature an artful use of silhouettes and such inventive details as maids a-milking goats rather than the usual cows and pear trees festooned with ornaments as well as fruit. The recurring gifts are indicated in the text by thumbnail-sized rebuses, which may be too small for audiences to follow from more than a few feet away but allow the entire verse to fit on a single line throughout, even on the final spread. The old song has never looked better.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)