Publishers Weekly
09/12/2022
“People gift books/ as a sign of love,/ of hope, during a dark time of year.” Based around the Icelandic tradition of Jólabóka-flóðið, this picture book imagines a season in which people prepare to give books on Christmas Eve, and then read them the whole night through. Multitextured, collage-style spreads by Moss lean toward velvety evening hues as “darkness blankets the land,” the aurora borealis swirling in the background. Amid a town’s inhabitants, portrayed with varying skin tones, a brown-skinned child sporting a ladybug backpack also searches among the flood of new “stories to get lost in,/ to laugh at,/ to share.” Attentive to timing (“Just hours remain!”), Kilgore builds excitement to Christmas Eve. Meanwhile, owls and other creatures lend a fanciful feel to the spreads, which alternate between wintry outdoor landscapes and cozy interiors. An atmospheric celebration of Christmas as a time to celebrate the written word. An author’s note contextualizes Jólabókaflóðið. Ages 4–8. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
AN INDIE BESTSELLER
“The art adds old-world charm while leading the narrative through blue-tinted winter nights and warm, homey interiors. Moss’ lovely . . . captivating illustrations depict a family of four . . . as the story’s focus among a racially diverse country town . . . Marvelously enchanting.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Expressive and poetic . . . Bibliophiles will revel in this stunning celebration of the written word. The Christmas Book Flood sparkles with bookish excitement on every page.” —BookPage
“An atmospheric celebration of Christmas as a time to celebrate the written word.” —Publishers Weekly
“The warm illustrations depict a wonderfully diverse town and the renderings exude book love for all . . . A must-have for library collections and displays during the holiday season.” —School Library Journal
“[Kilgore’s] free-verse text sets the mood, a mix of awe and excitement as it describes the build-up to December 24 . . . Moss’s gorgeous full-bleed collage illustrations appropriately feature printed paper, and their rich hues perfectly capture the beauty of the northern lights.” —Horn Book
School Library Journal
11/11/2022
PreS—Kilgore introduces readers to the Icelandic tradition of Jólabókaflóðið as they follow a young girl with dark skin who is searching for the perfect book to give. The opening pages show the girl and other townspeople as they search for the perfect gift books in the Bókatíðindi, the Book Bulletin. In magical Currier and Ives—style tableaus, people shop in a welcoming bookstore. The girl finds the perfect book just before the bookstore closes on Christmas Eve and rushes home to experience the joy of gifting new worlds and adventures to someone. An author's note at the end, which shares the history of the Book Flood and encourages participation in the tradition, might have better served readers as a foreword. The text flows well and will read aloud nicely. Moss captures the magic of reading and of Christmas in mixed media scenes, while incorporating book pages and anthropomorphized creatures. The warm illustrations depict a wonderfully diverse town and the renderings exude book love for all. VERDICT A must-have for library collections and displays during the holiday season.—Sarah Sieg
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2022-08-17
A long-held holiday tradition centered on the written word.
As winter settles across a beautiful land, people prepare for the tradition of gifting books on Christmas Eve. They pore over bulletins and bookstore shelves to plan the perfect choices for family and friends. Scenes of holiday cheer and tight-knit community abound as the day approaches. Then, people stream into the bookshop to make their long-awaited purchases. A young brown-skinned child even makes a last-minute discovery, having found the perfect book “to bring loved ones joy.” Everyone heads home for a celebration among festive decorations, sparkling lights, sumptuous food, and many loving hugs. After, they all settle in for “the best part of all”—cozy snuggles by the hearth with hot chocolate and hours of reading their new treasures. Kilgore depicts the Icelandic tradition of Jólabókaflóðið, or “Christmas Book Flood,” in loving, magical terms (more historical information is provided in an author’s note). The art adds old-world charm while leading the narrative through blue-tinted winter nights and warm, homey interiors. Moss’ lovely, heavily saturated colors seem to evoke old Currier and Ives prints with their detail to scenic landscapes, while collaged images of newsprintlike pages add texture and fun. These captivating illustrations depict a family of four (one parent and two children are brown-skinned; one parent is light-skinned) as the story’s focus among a racially diverse country town. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Marvelously enchanting. (Picture book. 4-8)
