Rossetti, Christina. Christina’s Carol. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2021.
“In the bleak midwinter…” So begins the Christmas song originally written as a poem by Christina Rossetti for a literary magazine in 1872. Gustav Holst set the words to music after her death and in 1906, the song was published in an English hymnal.
Tomie dePaola created more than 260 picture books before he died in 2020. In this beautiful Christmas book, all five stanzas of Rossetti’s tender poem are gorgeously illustrated in dePaola’s distinctive warm-hearted style, inviting readers to ponder each line. At the end, a white dove in a green wreath accompanies the final words: Give my heart.
Highly recommended for readers who appreciate Tomie dePaola’s books and collect Christmas stories.
