Woolly Russell Delivers Christmas Magic

I've always been a sucker for sheep, ever since the days when I toted a little toy lamb around with me as a toddler, but I'd almost forgotten how much I enjoy those fleecy fellas until I started watching Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, the computer-animated show on PBS Kids in which a flock of silly, silent ewes are led on a series of adventures by the wise-cracking sheep Wiley, voiced by Mel Brooks. He was the first thing I thought of when I spotted Russell's Christmas Magic by Rob Scotton.

I understand that this is not the first story that has been written about Russell, so children who open this book may be encountering a familiar world, but the fanciful locales of Frogsbottom Field, where sheep bundled in cozy quilts doze under a lantern-lit night sky, and Firefly Wood, where Santa Claus and the eight disgruntled reindeer pulling his sleigh crash, were brand-new to me, and I liked what I saw.

The illustrations are soft, muted and strange, in an endearing sort of way. The words match the whimsy of the pictures with sentences like "An idea bounced around in Russell's hat and settled on his head." Russell, in his absurdly long striped stocking-cap and accompanied by a tiny frog, occupies the role of Heroic Creature quite nicely. He's an unassuming chap, kind and considerate but seemingly not subjected to ridicule like poor Rudolph.

Santa and the reindeer are guests in his corner of the world, so he deems it only polite to help them find a way out of their predicament, which involves a shattered sleigh and a broken spell. While his creative solution calls for considerable suspension of disbelief, it's hard to begrudge Scotton that in a story about a talking sheep.

Not only are the illustrations joyous and inventive, the text meshes with them, sometimes winding around in attractive swirls like gusts of magical Christmas wind. A glimpse of the Aurora Borealis as Russell joins Santa as a special guest on his delivery route increases the enchantment.

Now that I've met Russell and entered into his quirky world, I'm eager to seek out his other adventures. For a holiday tale as warm as a hand-knit sweater, count on this sheep to deliver!