A Christmas Wish [Hardcover]

Marcus Sedgwick (Author), Simon Bartram (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

It's Christmas Eve, but the weather is warm and the grass still green. Before falling asleep, a boy makes an urgent wish for a snowstorm like the one in his swirling snow globe. Later that night, something magical begins to happen. First one flake falls from the cloudless sky, then more and more and more! The world outside the boy's window is soon taken over by the tumbling, twirling snow creatures that have brought the storm with them. And that's not all they've brought! Santa himself makes an appearance with another surprise for the boy-a pair of skates to wear as he skims across the frozen pond the next morning, marveling at the world transformed by his Christmas wish.

Full of superbly surrealistic illustrations, this enchanting picture book features eight translucent pages that draw the reader into the magic of a seemingly impossible wish come true.

Illustrated by Simon Bartram.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-Seeming to strive for a mood in which the magical and the surreal intersect, Sedgwick instead offers a slender premise: a boy wishes for a snowfall like the one in his snow globe. For no particular or apparent reason, it does snow, providing the illustrator with an opportunity to populate the large, heavyweight pages with myriad fantastical creatures. The illustrations have energy and ingenuity, but not enough to prop up the tedious text ("Something really magical is happening"). Transparent pages with globs of snow (more closely resembling raindrops on a car windshield) signal the beginning and end of the magic without adding to the story or the mood. Much ado about very little.-S. P.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 1. British novelist Marcus Sedgwick (The Dark Horse, Floodland) makes his picture-book debut with A Christmas Wish, published in Great Britain as A Winter's Tale. In his lakeside home one warmish Christmas eve, a boy wishes it would snow outside like it does inside his snow globe. Magically, his wish comes true--his house is soon aswirl in an extraordinary snowstorm teeming with bears, dancers, gingerbread men, and skiers as the lake outside freezes into a festive ice rink. Translucent, frosted paper overlays, scattered with snow, convey a sense of increasing snowfall, while the scene beneath reveals wintery gusts led by a spike-headed snow wizard. In the morning, "The dancing stops, / the snow subsides / and the magic? The magic has just begun!" Bartram's illustrations contrast serene, old-fashioned neo-Rockwellian scenes with the more cartoonish star-spangled, snowy swirl of magic. The story is virtually nonexistent, but readers who have been transfixed by the tiny world inside a snow globe may be transported by this visual winter fantasy. Karin Snelson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (September 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525471952
• ISBN-13: 978-0525471950
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,936,574 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Would not recommend, March 5, 2011

By 

Lori A. Sosa - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Christmas Wish (Hardcover)

I received this book as a gift for my toddler son. Although I do think the illustration is beautiful, the pictures of the snow approaching may be frightening to children. It seems there was much work put into the pictures, but absolutley none into a story of any kind. The book is very short and doesn't say anything at all; there are several pages that actually have no words. There are few children's books that I can say that I truly do not like, and this is at the top of the list. Very disappointing.

1.0 out of 5 stars Kids don't get it, January 6, 2010

By 

J. Towe "Quiet Place" (Bristol, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Christmas Wish (Hardcover)

The illustrations are a bit frightening. After seeing this book, kids who have never seen snow will be afraid of it. The story isn't much better, it ends like the introduction to a good book, just there isn't a good book after it.