The Twelve Days of Christmas

by Jan Brett, Graeme Malcolm (Narrated by)

Overview

A centuries-old favorite holiday carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was one of the first to celebrate the secular tradition of gift-giving. This sumptuously illustrated version features not only the gifts of a suitor to his true love but a loving family's Christmas preparations, how to say "Merry Christmas" in 12 different language, and a vast array of charming woodland animals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780425287828
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	10/13/1989
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	44 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

With over thirty four million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.

As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."

As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain," she says. "I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting."

Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. "From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books."

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

A warm book to the touch." The New York Times Book Review

Editorial Reviews

Jan Brett's interpretation of The Twelve Days of Christmas returns as a board edition. PW said, "[Brett] illustrates the fantastic gifts in outrageous splendor,... turns them into a border of tree decorations, includes a menagerie of animals carrying banners with `Merry Christmas' in different languages and sets into the outer edges of each frame an ongoing story about a family's preparations for the big day itself." Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

``On the first day of Christmas,/ My true love gave to me/ A partridge in a pear tree.'' A straightforward beginning to a carol that grows increasingly complicated as both the list of presents and the numbers involved accumulate. Brett's lavish treatment of the song portrays various levels of meaning; she has illustrated the fantastic gifts in outrageous splendor (seven swans swim in folkloric Russian headdresses), turned them into a border of tree decorations, included a menagerie of animals carrying banners with ``Merry Christmas'' in different languages, and set into the outer edges of each page an ongoing story about a family's preparations for the big day itself. In the final frame, the decorated tree serves as the centerpiece for their own caroling. The artist demonstrates, once again, that she will not relinquish a project before every last glorious detail is in place; the clarity of her vision is stunning. (All age)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Not only will Brett's fans be enthralled by her version of this Christmas song, but also anyone who picks it up will enjoy the vibrant illustrations and the delightful story within the story. The center panels relate to the song while the side panels tell a story of a young couple and their family finding and decorating their holiday tree. Christmas greeting are offered in a dozen languages and an Editor's Note provides some background about the song, the text and music of which appear on the opening pages.

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

Not only will Brett's fans be enthralled by her version of this Christmas song, but also anyone who picks it up will enjoy the vibrant illustrations and the delightful story within the story. The center panels relate to the song while the side panels tell a story of a young couple and their family finding and decorating their holiday tree. Christmas greetings are offered in a dozen languages and skillfully woven into the corner illustrations. Now available in board book form, this delightful book will be enjoyed by a whole new generation of little ones. 2004 (orig. 1986), Putnam, Ages 2 to 5.
—Marilyn Courtot

Children's Literature

A warm book to the touch." The New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher