Anne Zoet

Starring the inimitable Purrball and Furrball, Anne Zoet’s Dreaming of a Green Christmas is a delightful Christmas picture book which combines Christmas gifts, ornaments and trees with a warmly environmental theme. When Furrball the sloth complains about deforestation in Brazil, Darryl is inspired to ask his parents how Christmas might be more eco-friendly. The answers are easy for any child to understand, offer plenty of family fun, and are told in nicely rhythmic rhymes with bright clear illustrations. The story begs to be read aloud, and the bright pictures include computers with a pleasingly up-to-date feel. In this flat, even a cat isn’t stirring on Christmas night, but children will eagerly spot who is flying in the sky.

Disclosure: I was given a copy and I offer my honest review.… (més)

When Darryl’s family move to Brazil, it’s obvious that Darryl’s cat, Purrball, will come too, and so will readers, enjoying this book. Wise parents have Mom’s phone and charger on hand for the journey, so Darryl can play games. They provide welcome cat treats to keep Purrball content. But neither Purrball nor Darryl can keep smiling when the world rocks and sways. An earthquake is not what anyone expected, and the startled cat runs away.

Thus begins Anne Zoet’s Purrball Meets Burrball in Brazil. Bright, lively illustrations invite small readers and listeners to guess what happens next because…well, because poor Purrball has Mom’s phone and charger tangled around his leg. Burrball the Sloth (very pleasingly named) offers help. Then both cat and sloth prove wise and resourceful, passing strangers behave with bemused excitement, and the internet, so familiar to young readers, plays its own sweet part in bringing a family back together.

An adult might draw wise lessons from this tale, while child and adult together enjoy a fun story with a happy ending and promise of more, maybe, to come. The rhymes are a little forced at times, and the rhythm a little off, but the concept is intriguingly new and it all works well—the story reads pretty smoothly, and the pictures bring it to life, leaving readers satisfied and eager for more.

Disclosure: A publicist gave me a copy and I offer my honest review.… (més)