The Christmas Clown

Lisa Arsenault is an elementary-school teacher in Ajax, Ontario.

Every Christmas, the clown is the first ornament to be taken out of the
box and given the place of honor near the top of the tree, because he is
the oldest and the wisest. From his vantage point, he keeps the other
decorations informed about family events from year to year. The use of
the clown to chart the life of this family (and, by extension, any
family) through the generations is an ingenious idea. He is used as a
nonthreatening device for acknowledging the reality that death will
occur as the generations change.

Each ornament is illustrated with exquisite detail; the successive
additions culminate in an illustration of the fully decorated (for that
year) tree. On the facing page is a lined page entitled “Our Christmas
Family,” on which the reader can make a list of his or her family
members. Accompanying the book is a delightful craft activity: five
paper Christmas ornaments, replicated from the book, to color and cut
out. Two are assembled with fasteners to create movable arms and legs.
As a final touch, a completed clown, with a ribbon hanger, is included.
Highly recommended.