Jan Brett writes a beautiful story but the true star of the show are her gorgeous illustrations. I love how the stunning art in the central picture is augmented by the secondary story being told in the images in the side bar. She is a tee master of her craft. ( )

Jan Brett's illustrations were lovely as ever in this Christmas-time tromp with the trolls, but I found the story to be a little bit strange. I'm not overly familiar with Icelandic/Nordic troll-lore, but I guess trolls are all born with tails which they lose when they become better-behaved older trolls. This strikes me as rather odd, since many of the trolls that Brett has featured previously have been extremely mischievous even though they are definitely "grown-up" trolls. Most troll lore from other sources places the trolls in nature, rather than in domestic family settings which mirror the cozy lives of Scandinavian families, so Brett's portrayal of the troll family which seemed more inclined to stay at home by their Christmas fire seemed decidedly out of place. I wonder if there was another group of Scandinavian lore creatured which would have suited the story's themes better, or even a group of anthropomorphized animals. At least we got a total romp out of the story, which perfectly showcased the range of Jan Brett's artwork throughout the forest setting. ( )

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The illustrations, as always, are beautiful. It is Jan Brett after all. However i find the story lacking. I guess i was expecting a full Christmas book and instead got the story of a troll who runs away from home to avoid work. He is home for Christmas after freeloading off the other animals in the forest for a while. I think the ending was too nice. It was a pretty decorative package gift wrapped under the tree. Pretty on the outside, empty on the inside. ( )

Rollo is a young troll who hates chores and runs away. However, he misses his family at Christmas time.