English artist Lara Hawthorne, who previously created a beautiful picture book presentation of the classic Christmas carol, Silent Night, turns to another beloved holiday song in this lovely volume. The words of The Twelve Days of Christmas provide the text here, and are paired with Hawthorne's folk-collage style illustrations. A two-page spread at the rear of the book offers young readers a chance to search and find all of the gifts mentioned in the song...

I have something of a weakness for picture book presentations of Christmas carols, and I enjoyed Hawthorne's Silent Night, so when I discovered the existence of 12 Days of Christmas, I immediately sought it out. Unsurprisingly, I found it quite lovely, and enjoyed perusing it. My favorite picture books based upon this carol are the outstandingly beautiful ones created by Laurel Long and Jane Ray, although the versions done by Anna Wright, LeUyen Pham and Alison Jay are also gorgeous, so this one had some stiff competition. I don't know that I would rank it up with these others—it's solidly appealing, but doesn't stand out to me. That said, admirers of the artist's work will undoubtedly appreciate it, and I did like the fact that the human figures depicted were quiet diverse. If the reader can only seek out one or two versions of this carol in picture book form, I would strongly recommend the Laurel Long and Jane Ray titles. Otherwise, I recommend this one to picture book readers looking for engaging titles featuring The Twelve Days of Christmas, or Christmas carols in general. ( )

Ah, a classic.

This is a great picture book with colourful illustrations to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Get your singing voice ready, because this song is gonna be stuck in your head... so you might as well sing it! Who cares if it's not even October yet? SING ON.

I love the pictures in this book! I remember back in my youth I had a picture book with the song in it and it was so dull. It literally showed the exact pictures and I thought it was dumb (I was like... 4? I was already a critical reviewer. What can I say?). This book has more colours, more pictures and keeps you looking around the picture. Every time you will find something new. This may be too busy for some readers, but for me it was a fun outing.

This book does add something "new" to the story: It has some facts at the end about the song! So I was pleasantly surprised AND I learned something new.

Four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. ( )

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. ( )

My daughters (ages 8 and 5) and I had a blast reading 12 Days of Christmas by Lara Hawthorne. For fun, we sang the tune as we read the pages. The girls stopped on every page to find the items, animals, or people that matched the newest line of the song. The beautiful illustrations complemented the words, and both girls stayed interested from beginning to end. A note at the end includes information about this carol. Following that is an illustrated spread that challenges the reader to find everything from the song hidden in the scene. Both girls agreed the hidden picture pages were their favorite part.

Final Thoughts: My daughters loved this book and I thought it was adorable. We had fun singing the song and I feel confident we will revisit the book many times. 5 Stars!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product via the Amazon Vine program. All opinions in this review are my own. ( )

‘’And a partridge in a pear tree.’’

1995. I was ten years old when our English teacher brought us an all-new song for Christmas.
‘Forget Jingle Bells and Silent Night, guys. I’ve got a new one for you!’’ We were amazed and I am pretty sure the entire neighbourhood could hear us loud and clear. For five days, we were screaming the lyrics and enjoyed every second of it, because the nineties was a time for childish joy in the best way possible. And at the back of our heads, we were trying to fathom how can a property actually contain ladies, and maids, and lords, and pipers, and drummers, and half of the animal kingdom without any kind of disruption…

25 years later, I am still in love with this Christmas classic. This edition comes with beautiful illustrations by Lara Hawthorne, a hidden object game in the end and information on the origins of 12 Days of Christmas. And if you are an English teacher and want to create the cutest, brightest, most wonderful kind of mayhem in your classroom, this song is right there, waiting for you.

Many thanks to Frances Lincoln Children’s Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com ( )