Laura Nelson Baker (1911–2003)

Using the popular children's carol of The Friendly Beasts (sometimes also known as The Animals' Carol) as a starting point for her story, author Laura Nelson Baker spins the tale of the animals who patiently waited in the stable at Bethlehem for the heralded Christ child to appear. Each beast - the sheep, the cow, the doves - thinks of what they might give this miraculous babe, while the donkey, who bore the child's mother to the stable, had already given his gift...

Having read and enjoyed a number of picture-book presentations of this carol, from Tomie dePaola's The Friendly Beasts to Helen Ward's The Animals' Christmas Carol - I picked up Baker's little book with the expectation that it too would simply pair artwork with song. As it happens, the text is mostly in prose, setting up the situation at the manger before delving into the gifts given by the animals. The latter section of the story, devoted to said gift giving, is more poetic, but it doesn't reproduce the carol exactly. That is left to the final pages, which give the traditional verses, along with musical notation. The accompanying artwork from Nicolas Sidjakov is very much in the style of the Caldecott Medal-winning illustrations he did for Ruth Robbins' Baboushka and the Three Kings. Colorful and interesting, it is not quite my cup of tea. I generally prefer Sidjakov's work in books like Staffan: An Old Christmas Folk Song, which has more of a woodcut style. Interesting, obscure, and completely out of print, this is a book worth seeking out, if one is fond of Christmal carol picture-books, or is a fan of the artist. It is to readers with such interests and tastes that I would recommend it.… (mer)