Angelina's Christmas Pays Tribute to the Postal Service

When I was in fifth grade, I discovered the Pleasant Company. I'd been aware of it before, as several of my classmates had been obsessed with American Girl dolls, but by the time I fell under the spell of Kirsten, Samantha and Molly, my friends had outgrown them. I didn't mind having the obsession to myself, though, and gladly immersed myself in the catalogues, which were filled with intricate, expensive accessories appropriate to the time period of each particular girl.

Along with all of the pages devoted to these historical pre-teens, I sometimes caught a glimpse of a little mouse by the name of Angelina. This charming young rodent, an avid ballerina, is the star of her own series of books written by Katharine Holabird and illustrated by Helen Craig. The latest of these is Angelina's Christmas.

This yuletide tale finds Angelina eagerly preparing for her role as one of The Nutcracker's Sugar Plum Fairies in her school's Christmas show. Meanwhile, she notices that a neighbor, former postman Mr. Bell, is all by himself during this magical season, and she decides to share a little holiday cheer with him. She wants some help from her little cousin Henry, but he's so excited about Santa's arrival that he finds it hard to think of anything else. Will a visit with the elderly mouse change his perspective?

The drawings in this book are just as intricately detailed as befits a story told at mouse eye level. I especially love the illustration of Angelina and her friends, each in a wispy fairy costume of a different color, dancing elegantly on stage, soon to be joined by a very special visitor. The text is prose, with a couple of simply written paragraphs per page.

One thing I really like about this book is the way it pays tribute to those in the postal service, who, if you really think about it, perform Santa-like duties all year long and especially during the Christmas season when so many people are sending cards and gifts to one another. They too must battle sometimes ferocious weather in order to accomplish their task. Some say that the Internet has brought about the demise of traditional mail, but as someone who leaps up like an excited puppy at the sound of the mailman's truck each day, I am very grateful for these public servants and hope that people will always deem some things worthy of a stamp and a little extra effort.

You don't have to be into ballet to enjoy Angelina Ballerina, especially in this story, which is much more about her effort to ensure that this man who helped make so many Christmases merry throughout his career has a happy holiday himself. For Mr. Bell and for happy readers, Angelina is very pleasant company indeed.