The Lost Christmas

Starred review from September 24, 2018
Cronin returns to the candy-colored world of The Lost House and The Lost Picnic for a holiday seek-and-find just difficult enough for poring over. On a snowy Christmas Eve, “the children” visit their mustachioed grandfather in his spectacularly cluttered home, planning to help him decorate. Grandad has lost the ornaments, and readers can join the children in the search. Cronin details the ornaments to be found: “the rabbit on a sled, the red lantern, the accordion player, the circus performer, and the man with the green mustache.” In the artist’s distinctive acrylics, the children and grandfather have a curious cuteness reminiscent of vintage Little Golden Book characters. The daring shades of neon pink, green, and yellow practically vibrate on the pages. Ages 3–7.

September 1, 2018
Grandad is at a loss to find his Christmas ornaments before his grandkids arrive.The two children are coming to help him decorate. The three of them--anthropomorphic dogs with faces reminiscent of the Poky Little Puppy's--search through the clutter for the missing ornaments. (Grandad is a bit of a hoarder.) Young readers are invited to help search the busy pages for the lost ornaments. The missing decorations are all pictured at the front of the book to help with the search. Bright colors and densely packed pages mask more than Christmas decorations, though, and children will find much to empathize with. Grandad's messy, ramshackle house, with its cracked windows, patched-together banisters, and holes in the ceilings, is overflowing with stuff. Grandad's wistful expression hints that what may be lost is Christmases from happier times. Indeed, the ornaments are all of an old-fashioned style, and the objects that fill the house are primarily toys, yet Grandad seems to live alone. The rather peculiar color scheme ranges from muted, monochromatic endpapers to an almost garishly fluorescent interior. The engaging text runs along the bottoms of the pages, and an invitation to find one more ornament is on the copyright page at the end of the book.An intriguing addition to any collection of seek-and-find children's books. (Picture book. 3-7)

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