Publishers Weekly
09/12/2022
Redman sets gifts and treats in the context of lasting values in a celebration of Christmas anticipation. In rhyming quatrains, loosely scanning verse broadly details a seasonal activity (“After red and green dreams/ We wake up before the sun./ We’re counting down December days/ But savoring each one”), then categorizes each as part of a temporal moment (“This is a season of joy”). Including wonder, faith, and light, each concept downplays gratification and underscores generosity. Via soft digital art that foregrounds connection and light, Kaulitzki creates wide-eyed characters, portrayed with various skin tones, arranging a domestic creche, gathering for a meal, participating in a church nativity, and caroling outside an assisted living facility. It’s a community-focused look at simple holiday joys. Ages 3–6. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
"The illustrations are colorful and beautifully rendered… With less focus on Santa and more on people coming together for the holiday, this is a lovely read for libraries to add to their Christmas collections." —School Library Journal
"Christmas, Redman reminds us, means joy and wonder. It means loved ones coming together, it means people giving their time, their resources, and the gift of song, and it means sharing stories of faith...[Season of Light] exudes a sense of community." —Kirkus Reviews
"Redman sets gifts and treats in the context of lasting values in a celebration of Christmas anticipation... Including wonder, faith, and light, each concept downplays gratification and underscores generosity... It’s a community-focused look at simple holiday joys." —Publishers Weekly
"Redman’s lyrical rhyming text describes with anticipation the preparations that take place before Christmas. She showcases common traditions of the holiday that explain why this is a season that includes 'wonder,' 'song,' 'faith,' and 'light.'" —Horn Book
School Library Journal
08/05/2022
K-Gr 2—Three diverse families express what is important to them during the Christmas season in this beautifully illustrated holiday picture book. Readers follow the families as they prepare for Christmas activities including caroling at an assisted living center, sharing stories, spending time with relatives, going to church, gathering for a potluck, and performing in a pageant. This book is very much about coming together as a community during the Christmas season. Each spread features simple text limited to two to four lines; the text also rhymes, so it could be easily used for story times. Certain words, such as light, faith, giving, and joy, are highlighted or bolded. The illustrations are colorful and beautifully rendered; items that glow have an aura about them, and music notes move from one page to another. Overall, this is a great title to include in holiday sections. VERDICT With less focus on Santa and more on people coming together for the holiday, this is a lovely read for libraries to add to their Christmas collections.—Kristin Joy Anderson
Kirkus Reviews
2022-08-17
Families welcome the many-sided spirit of Christmas.
Christmas, Redman reminds us, means joy and wonder. It means loved ones coming together, it means people giving their time, their resources, and the gift of song, and it means sharing stories of faith. Throughout these seasonal proclamations, readers observe three core families, each celebrating Christmas in their own way. Later, these families come together during a Nativity play. Then the congregation lights candles on a snowy evening amid stringed lights and sparkling stars. Told in rhyme, the text closes with an acknowledgement that “the world may not always shine so bright” but encourages readers to keep these values alive during the rest of the year. The story exudes a sense of community, from the church play to a festive scene at a community center to a group of people caroling at an assisted living facility. Kaulitzki’s soft-edged illustrations conjure a calm and bright atmosphere. Still, though the tale is a solid one, it doesn’t quite stand out in a crowd of similarly themed books. The town is racially diverse; one of the central families presents as Black, another is brown, and the third is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice but feels standard. (Picture book. 3-6)
