Just right by Birdie Black
Ill. by Rosalind Beardshaw. Noisy Crow. 2011. ISBN 978 0 85763 030 8.
(Ages 4-7) Picture book. Humour. Christmas. An absolutely delightful
story about giving a gift for Christmas has the king buying a large
roll of beautiful red cloth for the dressmakers to make his wife a
lovely cloak. The leftover cloth is then left by one of the maids on
the doorstep where it is picked up by a kitchen maid. She uses some of
it to make a jacket for her daughter, then leaves the scraps on her
doorstep. Badger, spying the red cloth takes it home to make a red hat
for his father. The scraps again are picked up and mittens are made for
the squirrel's wife. The last little piece is found by the mouse and
she finds it just right to make a scarf for Billy. Each present is
wrapped or not, and left under the tree in each of the households, and
on Christmas morning each is opened and appreciated. A beautiful double
page spread at the end of the book shows all the givers and recipients
proudly displaying their gift as they skate on the frozen lake.
This charming book shows the range of gifts given for Christmas and
will elicit responses from the students listening or reading it
themselves about what they receive and give for Christmas. That each
piece of leftover cloth is used by the characters, makes a telling
reminder that the giving of a gift is not about its monetary value but
the impetus behind the giving of the gift. This book will be a valued
inclusion in the Christmas stories used in classrooms and by parents at
this time of the year, when discussing what the children will give for
Christmas. It is a humorous look at what is important about giving, and
incidentally a tale about recycling and making the best use of an
object.
Fran Knight