Despite some scheduling complications, I’ve kept up with the Picture Book Advent calendar. A strong week! Very Jan Brett-forward.

Admiring the illustrated endpapers of The All-I’ll-Ever-Want-for-Christmas Doll, I mused, “That looks like a Gee’s Bend quilt.” Then I flipped to the first page, where I learned from the author’s note by Patricia McKissack that the book grew out of her interviews with one of the Gee’s Bend quilters, who glowed with joy at the memory of receiving a store-bought doll one Christmas. Luminous illustrations by Jerry Pinkney. I especially love the way he draws the children in this book, most particularly the scene where the three sisters are having an argument and their poses are just so perfect.

The Christmas Anna Angel, by Ruth Sawyer, illustrated by Kate Seredy. In Hungary, near the end of World War I, Anna’s family has no white flour for Christmas cakes, let alone nuts or honey. But Anna wishes on her angel (the Anna Angel), and on Christmas Eve, the angel shows up to bake cakes… Enchanting illustrations by Kate Seredy, who grew up in Hungary and is recreating the world of her youth, with the extra magical touch of the baking angel who summons some bees to make honey from the real flowers decorating her white skirt. (As she settles down to the serious business of mixing the cake, she hangs her halo off the knob on a chair, a businesslike touch.)

Who’s That Knocking on Christmas Eve?, written and illustrated by Jan Brett. For the past few years, a bunch of mischievous trolls have been bursting into Kyri’s house to eat up the Christmas feast. But this year, a traveling boy knocks on the door with his ice bear, and the trolls get a surprise! Very cute. Love the cabin interior and the aurora.

Home for Christmas, written and illustrated by Jan Brett. Naughty troll boy Rollo runs away from home, living with an owl, a bear, an otter, a moose, but comes home in time for Christmsa. I must admit that every time I read a book about a naughty boy running away (i. e. Where the Wild Things Are), a part of me is gunning for the folks back home to decide that life is actually so much better without him and they’d like him to stay away, please.

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree, written by Gloria Houston, illustrated by Barbara Cooney. In Ruthie’s Appalachian village, it’s tradition for a different family to provide the church Christmas tree each year, and this year it’s her family’s turn. But with Ruthie’s father gone to fight in the Great War, will Ruthie and her mother be able to get the tree to the church? Lovely mountain landscapes. One thing I love about Barbara Cooney’s work is the botanical exactness: she doesn’t just draw flowers, she draws columbine and honeysuckles, very simple but still recognizable.

Jan Brett’s The Nutcracker, written and illustrated by Jan Brett. A mild disappointment, perhaps because no picture book (no matter how detailed) can quite match the richness of a two-hour ballet.

The Christmas Boot, Lisa Wheeler, illustrated Jerry Pinkney. Coming full circle with another Jerry Pinkney! Hannah Grayweather finds a big leather boot in the snow… and when she puts it on, it molds itself to fit her foot. “If only I had another one just like it,” Hannah muses that night, and wakes up to find a second boot waiting for her in the morning… An enchanting fairytale.