English author/artist Jane Cabrera, known for her many picture-book adaptations of classic children's songs, here turns her attention to that beloved Christmas carol, presenting a humorously sweet variation on the standard version. Bright acrylic artwork is paired with verses in which most of the gifts consist of various animal friends of the two children on the cover. "Twelve penguins skating, eleven reindeer dancing," and so on. The song concludes here with a ride home on Santa's sleigh...

I was unfamiliar with Cabrera's work before picking up The 12 Days of Christmas, but given my interest in picture-book presentations of Christmas carols, I immediately snapped it up, when I saw it on the holiday shelves at my public library. I see from the rear jacket blurb that most of her other books are also song adaptations, leading me to wonder if all of them are revisionist takes, like this one. I enjoyed the cute artwork here, sang my way through the altered lyrics, and think this an enjoyable holiday picture-book. That said, as someone who enjoys Christmas carol picture-books enough to seek them out, this won't ever become a favorite. It's sweet, but lacks the beauty of the gorgeouly illustrated traditional versions, done by artists like Laurel Long and Jane Ray. Still, I won't belabor the point - tastes vary, and this one will undoubtedly be a hit with many young children at Christmastime. ( )

I read this book aloud to my 3 year old cousin and she loved it. I liked the new twist on the old lyrics :) The illustrations were really cute as well. ( )

Adaption of the 12 days of Christmas