The Money We’ll Save

In this charmingly loopy tale set in a cramped 19th-century tenement, Ma sends Pa to the market to buy eggs and flour (“Christmas is not far off, and we must save every penny”). He returns, however, with a scrawny turkey, vowing to fatten it up for Christmas, proclaiming, “Think of the money we’ll save!” The bird eats everything in sight, wreaks havoc in their apartment, and annoys the neighbors, but when it’s time to bring him to the butcher, the children protest. Creating a strong sense of the historical setting, Cole’s (Good Enough to Eat) wispy pictures play off the ample comedy in the prose, making for a holiday story as humorous as it is touching. Ages 4–up. (Oct.)