Horn Book (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

A lonely young boy makes a wish on a shooting star and finds himself in the company of Christmas tree ornaments come to life. With a tin soldier, rocking horse, angel, and robin, Theo has an adventure throughout his snow-covered city on Christmas Eve. Sutton's beautifully intricate watercolor and ink art and the high-quality book production add charm to an otherwise sentimental Christmas story.

Kirkus Reviews

A little boy finds a box of old ornaments that come to life on a special Christmas Eve.Theo's parents have left him alone with a distracted babysitter. Despondent, Theo makes a wish on a shooting star "to be un-alone." A rocking horse, a robin, a tin soldier, and an angel wake up to keep him company. Each has its own distinctive personality—the rocking horse eats everything in sight, the little robin has forgotten how to sing, the angel would love to have real feathers for her wings, and the soldier pines for his own true love. They head outside for an evening full of joyful adventures. Rundell's writing is delightful, but it's marred by several non sequiturs and discrepancies between text and art. Illustrations throughout clearly show Theo clad in striped pajamas. Yet the text says "Theo thought about his heart, beating hard under his four layers of sweaters." When Theo and his ornament friends find a princess doll in a toy store, the line "Theo lifted down her box" is followed by "Theo looked up at the doll," who's depicted in place on the upper shelf. But great care was given to the book's beautiful design. Spacious text wraps around illustrations; wide borders are sometimes filled with pictures, and the pages open up to perfectly placed, colorful double-page spreads. Theo, his family, and the humanoid animate toys all present white.A heartwarming tale of the magic of Christmas, but adults will need to be ready to help children past the rough spots. (Picture book. 4-7)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Left alone by his preoccupied parents on Christmas Eve, Theo discovers four worn ornaments at the bottom of the decoration box: a tin soldier, an angel, a rocking horse, and a robin. Then a shooting star blazes by. -I wish to be un-alone,- Theo says aloud. Instantly, the decorations come to life. The rocking horse eats everything in sight (-pine needles, electrical cables, and the bottoms of curtains-), the robin yearns to sing, the angel to fly, and the tin soldier to find his love. Rundell (The Explorer) spins her tale with British civility (-Sorry,- Theo apologizes as the Christmas ornaments lay waste to his piano teacher-s sitting room, -Sorry!-), and the group-s exchanges provide smiles (-I have a feeling you-re supposed to brush your hair if you-re hoping to fall in love,- the soldier worries). With delicately brushed lines, detailed ink-and-watercolor vignettes by Sutton (A First Book of the Sea) supply just the right snow-covered, holly-sprigged atmosphere for a series of magical transformations-and some very real love. Ages 5-9. (Sept.)