Horn Book

In Sammy's letter to Santa, she asks for friends, not toys, for Christmas. When her wish is granted--in small, medium, and large boxes--Sammy and her new animal pals play together in the snow, bake cookies, and snuggle in bed. In this nearly wordless story, Donovan's rich illustrations celebrate the season with warm indoor scenes and snow-filled outdoor adventures.

Kirkus Reviews

Sometimes a girl would just like to be left alone with her pets to do what she likes, without all those grown-ups around running the show. That's the case with the main character in this almost-wordless story, which is told through the illustrations except for two letters to Santa. The little girl, who appears to be six or seven, finds three huge packages under her tree on Christmas morning: a cat, a dog and a pony. She feeds them, takes them outside to play in the snow, bakes cookies with them and then curls up with all three pets in her bed after their busy day. Softly shaded paintings in both full-page illustrations and multiple panels show the fun that the little girl has with her new friends, especially in the snow-speckled outdoor scenes. (Picture book. 3-6)

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

Donovan's near-wordless story is an animal lover's Christmas wish come true. On Christmas morning, three increasingly large packages from Santa await the pigtailed heroine. Inside them: a cat, a dog, and%E2%80%94hey, we're talking wish fulfillment%E2%80%94a beautiful tan pony. It only gets better as they pile onto her sled, have a snowball fight, and curl up in her bed. Donovan's naturalistic paintings bring out the innate humor of this too-good-to-be-true situation, but also the girl's underlying love of animals. All ages. (Sept.)

School Library Journal (Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

PreS-Gr 2 A girl who has just moved to a new house mails a letter to Santa, and on Christmas Day her wishes appear under the tree in three appropriately sized boxesa cat, a dog, and a miniature horse. The new friends play in the snow, make Christmas cookies, and finally snuggle in bed together after a long, wonderful day. This wordless story, told in full- and half-page illustrations, is similar in style to Alexandra Day's "Carl" books (Farrar) in both the realistic artwork and the wish-fulfillment tale, with hardly a grown-up to be seen. It's a sure bet that this super-sweet yet cozy story will have kids adding "a cat, a dog, and a horseREAL ones" to their Christmas lists.— Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library