The 12 Days of Christmas

Elephant has a very generous friend, one who intends to give Elephant a gift for each of the twelve days of Christmas. But things just might get out of hand before this incredible act of giving is through!

The 12 Days of Christmas is at once a delightful children’s book and a hilarious takedown of this ridiculous Christmas classic. Pizzoli really highlights the insanity of this vintage Christmas carol with the visuals, particularly with the ever-suffering larger elephant dealing with the increasing stress and chaos wrought by these living gifts. The character even goes so far as to break the fourth wall and look right at the reader in a moment that made me laugh out loud.

In addition, Pizzoli makes some interesting visual choices with some of the days of Christmas, sticking to the animal-centric theme introduced by all those days of birds in order to introduce a menagerie of other characters to populate this tale.

For a bright, funny, and warm revisiting of a song you thought you knew oh-so-well, The 12 Days of Christmas is for you.