Christmas Farm

by: Mary Lyn Ray; Illustrator, Barry Root

Published by: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (October 1 release)

Reviewed by Laura V. Hilton

Wilma is getting tired of planting sunflowers and petunias in her garden. So, she’s looking around for a change. When she goes out to cut down her annual Christmas tree, Wilma knows what she’s going to grow in her garden: Christmas trees. So, she places an order for sixty-two dozen balsam seedlings, and gathers string, shovels, and her five-year-old neighbor, Parker.

Year after year, Wilma and Parker nurture their trees, keeping careful count of how many perish to what causes, and how many grow up to be Christmas trees.

Christmas Farm doesn’t really go into detail about what it is like to own and operate a Christmas tree farm, but it does cover a few of the things they do to care for trees, how long they have to grow, and what might kill the trees.

With Christmas quickly approaching, Christmas Farm is definitely a book you’ll want to pick up for your favorite three- to seven-year-old. My three-year-old and my six-year-old both enjoyed this book, though it held the six-year-old’s attention a little better.

The illustrations are beautiful, and the text is interesting. Even grown-ups would enjoy reading this book to learn a little about where their Christmas trees might come from.

Armchair Interviews says: A nice holiday addition to a family’s library.