A Forest for Christmas.

Gregory Bryan is a member of the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.

In A Forest for Christmas, young Emily endeavours to save a local forest from destruction. The forest is home to an assortment of wildlife that, with lots of love, Emily has learned to converse with. With the help of the woodland creatures and Emily’s magic red hat, Emily races to save the forest from being destroyed on the day following Christmas.

Eric Orchard’s illustrations are an intriguing mixture of detailed realism and creative whimsy. Some of the artwork is exquisite, including a couple of paintings that contain unmistakable nods toward the work of Van Gogh. On the other hand, Michael Harris’s text occasionally seems too long-winded. A more concise text may have increased the book’s appeal but, with echoes of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol and Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax, Harris’s book is certain to find an appreciative audience. Recommended.