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Sunday, December 19, 2010

A Porcupine in a Pine Tree, written by Helaine Becker and illustrated by Werner Zimmermann. Scholastic, 2010. $16.99 ages 3 and up

"On the fifth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Five Stanley Cups,
Four calling moose,
Three beaver tails,
Two caribou,
And a porcupine in a pine tree."




Dedicated to Canadian kids...the best in the world, Helaine Becker uses many of our iconic symbols to create a new song for Christmas this year. She begins with a pine tree, and a porcupine! With each new spread, Werner Zimmerman adds to the fun, creating watercolor images that shine with expressive characters and humorous detail. Each is rendered in bright color and served up on a background of white space. Red is predominant, a reminder of our national color.

The sports are familiar....hockey, sledding, curling, canoeing. The people too...Toronto Maple Leafs, Mounties. Then, there are the animals....puffins, loons, moose, bears and beavers. As the numbers grow, chaos ensues. Finally, the porcupine remembers to water the pine tree, and peace prevails before the final foray into the branches of the spectacular evergreen!

Now, you have a new song to teach for the concert next year...in case I'm too late for this year!

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