cover image Emma's Christmas: An Old Song

Emma's Christmas: An Old Song

Irene Trivas. Orchard Books (NY), $15.95 (1pp) ISBN 978-0-531-05780-3

If there is such a thing as a fractured fairy tale, then certainly this book qualifies as a cracked Christmas carol. Emma's Christmas begins when she turns down an offer of marriage from a prince. He sends her a partridge in a pear tree; she is charmed but not persuaded. The next day, two turtledoves and another pear tree arrive at Emma's family's farm, and the procession is nowhere near an end. By the time the 12 days of Christmas have passed, Emma has a groom, the prince has become a farmer, and there are hundreds of people and birds milling around in disarray. Trivas leads readers on this merry dance, taking time to run up totals now and thenEmma makes 90 omelettes one morning, for all those blasted lords and ladies. Music not included, but lyrical nonsense on every page. A Richard Jackson Book. Ages 4-7. (Oct.)