Picture-book author/artist Jane Monroe Donovan, whose Winter's Gift was such a poignant, magical tale, returns with this second Christmas story, this time told almost exclusively through the illustrations. A young girl writes a letter to Santa - the only text in the book - asking for a friend, and wakes up Christmas morning to find a cat, dog and miniature pony waiting for her under the tree. Together, girl and animals have fun in the snow: sledding, making snow angels, building snowmen (and snow animals) and having snowball fights. When they return home, they enjoy the cozy comforts of a warm house...

According to the author's note at the end of the book, complete with photographs, Small, Medium & Large was inspired by a real-life cat, dog and miniature horse that Donovan had as animal companions over the years. That knowledge certainly made the story more meaningful, and although there were moments where I had to struggle a bit to suspend my disbelief - would a dog, cat and horse all fit on the girl's bed? Does one really sleep with a horse, even a miniature one?! - I still enjoyed the book. The illustrations are just lovely, and really make the story come alive. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for somewhat unusual Christmas stories and/or wordless narratives. ( )

This wordless picture book is fully of colorful, descriptive pictures. ( )

To see this week's wordless picture books please visit www.readrantrockandroll.com

Small Medium & Large is a children’s wordless picture book which tells the story in pictures of a child’s Christmas.

A little girl begins to prepare her home for Christmas and writes a letter to Santa stating that she doesn’t need toys this year. When Christmas morning comes, she’s surprised to see three special gifts around the tree for her. These gifts become her best friends and together they share a winter that creates everlasting memories.

We absolutely loved this book. The pictures were realistic. The gifts in the story were inspired by real life animals that at one time belonged to the author. We admired reading about these real animals in the back of the book and learning their real names. We were also very surprised when we took a look at the back cover and saw one of our favorite Christmas books of all time, Winter’s Gift. We didn’t even realize that it was written by the same author. This is one that will surely be added to our Christmas collection.

5***** ( )

In this wordless picture book, a Christmas wish unfolds through beautiful illustrations when a little girl writes a letter to Santa. As we follow along, we discover whether her Christmas wish is granted. When three special presents are left under the tree, the snowy adventure begins.

The Bottom Line: This picture book tells a story by using only illustrations, which encourages the viewer to follow along and discuss the actions in the pictures. The book is full of beautiful artwork. Also, there is an interesting note "From the Author" about the animals featured in the story. Recommended for kids ages 5 - 7 who enjoy animal stories.

This review appeared first at Mini Book Bytes Book Reviews: http://minibookbytes.blogspot.com/ ( )