Queen Victoria's Christmas by Jackie French
Ill. by Bruce Whatley. HarperCollins, 2014. ISBN 9780732293581
Strange things are happening at the Palace, things that have the
Palace dogs
puzzled. There's baking and decorating, people singing, crackers
that rip and
make a big noise, and the dogs themselves are being subjected to all
sorts of
indignities. Then the weirdest thing arrives - an enormous green
tree that is
placed in a pot. What can a dog so with that? Not what dogs usually
do to
trees, that's for sure.
But at last the doors are opened and all is revealed. Well, almost.
The
greatest surprise comes when the dogs do what dogs do and have the
most
marvellous payback for their inglorious suffering.
Once again the talents of Jackie French and Bruce Whatley have
combined to bring
a funny, charming story that paves the way for investigating the
origins of so
many of our Christmas traditions that were brought here from a very
different
time, place and climate as people tried to cling to the vestiges of
what they
knew as they pioneered a strange, new land. Cards, crackers, paper
hats,
Christmas puddings and cakes and the magnificently decorated tree
were all part
of the British Christmas and they have been woven into this story in
rhyme in a
delightful way. Whatley's illustrations which mirror the style and
shades of the
time are perfectly perfect.
A wonderful story and a wonderful starter for a timely inquiry.
Barbara Braxton