Weak story, by a very good author, improved by good illustrations. Theodore is left by himself on Christmas Eve, without even his usual babysitter. When he wishes for company, four somewhat damaged tree ornaments come to life, and they have a bit of an adventure. A magnanimous sort, Theodore helps them more than they help him. I wanted more. ( )

A story of friendship, love and family and Christmas cheer. Delightfully evocative illustrations by Emily Sutton. ( )

Left alone on Christmas Eve night by his parents, both of whom must work, young Theodore attempts to decorate the family tree himself, digging out an old box full of broken ornaments. After putting up an angel with molting wings, a rocking horse with woodworm-eaten rockers, a tin soldier with a rusted drum, and a partially bald robin, he makes a wish on a shooting star, asking for some company. Suddenly he finds that the four decorations he has just put on the tree have come to life, and stand ready to accompany him on a magical Christmas adventure. From finding singing lessons for the robin to making new wings for the angel, from seeking out the tin soldier's true love to attempting to keep the hungry horse fed, everything they do seems designed to deprive Theo of these new companions, and leave him alone again. But behind it all is a greater purpose, and the magic unleashed brings him the best thing of all...

Although Katherine Rundell's One Christmas Wish is formatted rather like a picture-book, I think it is more like a heavily illustrated short story, in book format. I expected, given the description and the appealing cover artwork, to find it enchanting - a magical Christmas adventure, just as billed. Unfortunately, although I did find Rundell's narrative moderately engaging, it didn't touch my emotions or fire my imagination to quite the degree that I had hoped. Something about the premise just put me off, and I found the whole story rather disjointed. I couldn't quite understand why Theo's parents seemed so uncaring at first, until the 'miracle' of the horse reminded them to come home. Were we somehow meant to assume they'd forgotten the spirit of Christmas? Do parents often leave their children at home on Christmas Eve with a babysitter, when it isn't (or doesn't seem like) an economic necessity for them to be working that night? While the story left me with mixed feelings, the artwork immediately won me over. Emily Sutton, who also illustrated the recently published The Christmas Eve Tree by Delia Huddy, contributes some lovely visuals here, and the two-page spreads alternate between text-dominated ones with a few peripheral illustrations, and image-dominated ones, in which a full or almost-full-page illustration is paired with a page of text. There are also some two-page spreads that are entirely devoted to the artwork, and contain no text. The color scheme is muted but deep, and I particularly loved the composition of the larger panels. Based on story alone, this probably would have been a two or two-and-a-half-star title for me, but the artwork definitely bumped it up a notch. Recommended primarily to Emily Sutton fans. ( )

Am Heiligenabend müssen die Eltern des kleinen Theo arbeiten. Während die Babysitterin eingeschlafen ist, versucht Theo den Weihnachtsbaum zu schmücken. Viele Kugeln sind zerbrochen, aber vier Christbaumanhänger - ein Schaukelpferd, ein Rotkehlchen, einen Zinnsoldaten mit einer Trommel und ein Engelchen – sind einigermaßen heil. Dann schaut Theo aus dem Fenster, sieht eine Sternschnuppe und wünscht sich, nicht mehr alleine zu sein. Da werden die Figuren lebendig und so wird es doch noch ein schöner Abend für Theo.

Die Geschichte liest sich sehr flüssig und ist ganz nett, aber dass es eine Geschichte voller Herz und Magie sein soll, finde ich übertrieben. Mir fehlte das Geheimnisvolle, das Wundersame in dieser Weihnachtsgeschichte.

Der Schreibstil ist kindegerecht und verständlich. Die Illustrationen sind passend und gefallen mir sehr gut.

Was mir wenig gefallen hat ist, dass aus Geschenkgutscheinen unter dem Weihnachtsbaum ein riesiger Berg Geschenke wurde und dass die Sternschnuppe in Wirklichkeit nur ein Flugzeug war. Am traurigsten fand ich es, dass ein Kind am Heiligabend mit seinem Babysitter alleine ist, weil die Eltern arbeiten müssen und dass diese Babysitterin sich mit dem Handy beschäftigt hat, bis sie eingeschlafen ist. Soll das ein Weihnachtswunder sein? Es ist einfach nur sehr traurig.

Dies ist keine Weihnachtsgeschichte, die ich den Kleinen vorlesen würde in der geheimnisvollen und wundersamen Weihnachtszeit. ( )