DiCamillo and Ibatoulline's Christmas Collaboration Brings Great Joy

When I was a youngster, my role as an angel in a Christmas pageant required me to recite the biblical speech that includes the statement, "Behold! I bring you tidings of great joy!" This staple of Sunday school Christmas plays is the cornerstone of Kate DiCamillo's tender Great Joy, which is lavishly illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline, who previously collaborated with DiCamillo on The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.

Frances, the compassionate little girl with the big line to deliver, is excited about her upcoming moment in the spotlight, but that enthusiasm is dampened by her realization that while she is warm and cozy up in her bedroom, out in the street below her an organ grinder and his monkey sleep in the snowy cold. When she expresses her concerns, her mother reacts with disdainful detachment, but that doesn't stop Frances from trying to figure out how she can bestow some Christmas warmth on this pair of homeless musicians.

DiCamillo weaves her tale beautifully, but Ibatoulline's acrylic and gouache paintings are what make the book so spectacular. There's a hazy quality to each of the pictures that magnifies the emotions of the almost photo-realistic characters. Frances, with her twin braids, blue ribbons and thoughtful gaze, and the grinder, with his old coat, graying mustache and melancholy eyes, are especially expressive. Careful study of the illustrations reveals that there is more to the story that DiCamillo explicitly indicates, such as the photograph of Frances' father in a military uniform, which explains his absence and probably has something to do with her mother's extra degree of caution.

The book has an old-fashioned feel to it, largely because of the man with the fez-adorned, bell-ringing monkey, a brand of street entertainment that seems to belong to an earlier time, but there doesn't seem to be any direct reference to a specific time frame. The ambiguity works well for a story that could be enjoyed just as easily by grandparents as by schoolchildren.

I've read many of the new Christmas books adorning bookstore shelves this season, and most have been delightful. Some, such as Angelina's Christmas and The Legend of St. Nicholas, similarly focus on bringing yuletide cheer to the less fortunate, but I think this one moved me more than any of the others. A gently resplendent tale in which readers can immerse themselves, basking in the glow of the luminous paintings, Great Joy is cause for great rejoicing.