The Christmas tree catastrophe by Emma Bowd & Matt Shanks

Christmas Eve and things are happening in this house. The cat, Kitty McCatty is chasing a mouse, while the baubles on the Christmas tree are arguing, the Nutcracker trying to intervene. Using ’Twas the night before Christmas’ poem as a template the story unfolds in rhyme. This adds to the fun of the book as readers predict the rhyming words as they go.

Suddenly the lights flicker as the mouse runs up inside the tree, followed of course by Kitty McCatty. The baubles stop bickering as the mouse leaps from the tree, leaving the cat stuck at the top of the swaying tree.The whole crowd yells get rid of that cat, and a small voice offers help. The Gingerbread man has an idea. He outlines a plan to the Nutcracker and baubles and lights. They use the lengths of tinsel to make the tree stand up straight, one group pulling the tree one way, the others pulling it the other.  When Santa comes down the chimney later in the night, he finds the tree almost straight with a kitten at the top instead of an angel.

This is a fun book, easy to read, wonderful as a read aloud, one that will encourage children to predict rhyming words and look for the original poem to compare the two.

Matt Shanks’ illustrations are bright and cheerful, full of colour and movement, encouraging readers to take in all the detail, watching the mayhem caused by the kitten chasing a mouse. All sorts of things cover each page, encouraging children to recognise those things which are customary necessities at Christmas in western homes. The tree with all its trimmings is delightful, especially the face at the top, and several branches used as limbs when it is trying to stop the cat. One page is turned to portrait as kids will turn the book to see the tree in all its beauty.

A fun book for one and all.

Themes: Problem solving, Christmas, Christmas tree, Verse.

Fran Knight