If You’re Jolly and You Know It

Following Fronis’s 2016 Halloween interpretation, If You’re Spooky and You Know It, this Christmas rendition of a classic song sets the stage in a sweetly colored winter wonderland. “If you’re jolly/ and you know it,/ clap your hands,” the text instructs, as Mr. and Mrs. Claus smile at each other, dance, and clap in a goldenrod-painted room with a Christmas tree. Subsequent pages feature elves and nutcrackers with varying skin tones and hair textures, as well as anthropomorphic ice-skating polar bears and reindeer wearing multicolored accessories. Though the song itself offers few surprises, Wu’s cheerful illustrations—particularly a gray mouse in a pom-pom-bedecked beanie and striped scarf whom readers can follow through the pages—will keep toddlers entertained. Ages 2–5. [em](Sept.) [/em]