Ranking Christmas Trees

Of course a Christmas tree is a favorite image among children's-book illustrators, so what follows is incomplete. But, still, here are three of my preferred Christmas trees (ranked):

(3) Jerry Pinkney. That's the little match girl, near death, having a hallucinatory vision of a nineteenth-century tree with flickering candles. I like the drama of the tree-near-explosion....but the girl is truly about to die. It's a bit grim for my taste.

(2) Tomie dePaola. This guy was constantly drawing Christian images, so naturally he returned again and again to "the fir-tree theme." We're looking at the cat-picture here. I'm fond of the chunky star and the bird-ornament, which appears to be Pete, from "Bill and Pete."

(1) Arnold Lobel. A neurotic, shoeless Toad waits for his lover on Christmas Eve. The tree is understated and pretty; the baubles are spaced apart in a thoughtful way. I'm also fond of the polka-dot gift wrap, the thrilling snowstorm, the thick Victorian curtain, the neglected glass of wine....

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