The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: An Appalachian Story (Picture Puffin Books)

It is a sweet story a family's life in the Appalachian Mt in the 1930-1940. It's theme is self-sacrifice for the love of family. It is a oral hand me down story passed down to the author by her grandmother.

I am a devoted Barbara Cooney fan, so I knew at the outset I would love this book. Her illustrations do not disappoint — they are detailed and beautiful, and so true to her style. The story is also so touching, of sacrifice and service. It started some great conversations with my kids (ages 6 and 9) about what life was like in the past, wartime, poverty, etc. It helped us to recognize our blessings and abundance at Christmastime. And of course the ending is exactly what you hope it will be. This is a new favorite book in our Christmas collection.

A wonderful story! Great to add to the Christmas collection.

Excellent book.

I used to borrow this picture book from the local library every Christmas but the pandemic limited library service to curbside. So I decided to buy it this year and at 7.99 (paperback) it's worth every penny. The art and story have that old fashioned, lyrical quality that you expect from traditional picture book. This is a fleshed out Christmas story with illustration, not a "slice of life" presentation with cute rhyming scheme or gimmick art you see in current picture books in the market. If you have a tradition of reading short Christmas stories like How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the Gift of Magi at the end of the year for that holiday experience, you should give this book a try. The plot is simple but elegant and Barbara Cooney's artwork is just sublime. It has good artistic and aesthetic value. It might be long for some younger readers but elementary students who can handle longer PBs (Patricia Polacco) may enjoy it.

All-time favorite Christmas book !!!!

Cute story, beautiful illustrations

It’s definitely too long for my 1 year old to listen to in one sitting. However m, I really love this book, will be one of our Christmas reads for years to come. Plus, we live in the area that is the setting for the story which makes it that much better.