Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve?

September 23, 2002
Knock knock. Who's there? More trolls to add to Brett's (Christmas Trolls; Trouble with Trolls) canon. Apparently, the trouble with trolls is that they're always making trouble. Luckily, they never get any smarter. In this Arctic story, a shy Finnmark girl fends off lurking trolls with help from a traveling boy and his pet polar bear. An icy landscape shimmers under the northern lights while bright Scandinavian frocks and household items give the scenery a kicky dash of color. Brett simultaneously reveals another angle of her tale via intricately designed side panels that frame the main event. The lifelike polar bear, both hulking and docile, is a scene-stealer. Ages 4-8.

October 1, 2002
K-Gr 2-In this story based on a traditional Norwegian folktale, a boy traveling from Finnmark to Oslo with his pet polar bear stops by Kyri's hut on Christmas Eve. The guests help to frighten away the trolls who come to wreak havoc and steal all of the holiday treats. The pleasure here lies mostly in the lush, richly textured illustrations, with Brett's distinctive borders that incorporate Norwegian folk motifs and trolls romping through skies lit by the Northern lights. Scenery aside, the children are rather one-dimensional, but the bear is handsome and heroic and the trolls satisfyingly ugly and naughty.-V. W.

Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2002
K-Gr. 2. Brett transports readers high above the Arctic Circle in this vivid, well-paced retelling of an old Norwegian folktale, a companion to her previous picture books "Christmas Trolls" (2000) and "The Trouble with Trolls" (1999"). "One Christmas Eve, a cold, hungry, Oslo-bound boy from Finnmark makes his way through the snow with his ice bear. Inside a distant hut, young Kyri prepares a delicious, aromatic holiday feast of sausage, fish, and tasty buns as she waits for her father to return home. Farther away (shown in one of Brett's trademark visually intricate insets), a ravenous troll sniffs the air to locate--and ultimately devour!-- Kyri's repast, just as he and his friends have every year. Children will be riveted by this suspenseful, happy-ending story of wanderers who "Knockety knock, knockety knock" at Kyri's door and the greedy, long-snouted trolls who "munched and grunted, shrieked and cackled, splashed the cider, and crammed themselves with Christmas cakes." Gorgeous endpapers depicting night-sky constellations studded with trolls, bears, and other mythical symbols complement the exquisitely detailed winter-wonderland artistry within. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2003
After young Kyri invites a boy traveling with his polar bear in from the cold, some trolls try to gain entry to Kyri's hut so that they can gobble up her Christmas feast. They break in, and after they eat, drink, and make merry, one troll awakens the polar bear, who chases the trolls into the Arctic night illuminated by the northern lights. The story is full of suspense and humor, and Brett's fine details heighten the drama.

(Copyright 2003 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)