CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY

Rylant and Goode return to some of the themes of their first collaboration, When I Was Young in the Mountains, for this evocative picture book about the simple things that make one girl's Christmas special. Rylant's idyllic subjects—enjoying cocoa and cookies, decorating the house and tree, singing at church—are as cozy as a kitchen warmed by a coal stove. Chipper ink-and-watercolor compositions, enhanced by cross-hatching and chock-full of homespun details (and the ever-present family dogs), exude contentment. Ages 3-up. (Oct.)