Willowbys Christmas Tree Robert Barry Reviews Summary

Illustrations and Quality

Pros:

• "The pictures are beautiful and it’s a much requested book in our house."
• "The illustrations are colorful and clear and the book is sturdy."
• "Wonderful illustrations. Whimsical and appealing to children."
• "Quality paper, quality printing, ink is clear and dark, illustrations are top notch."
• "The graphics we bright and cheery which is always great."
• "The illustrations are cute and the story is even better."
• "I love the original illustrations in black/white/green."

Cons:

• "It's still a good story, but my two grandchildren will always remember it as the story with the missing page, because it was such a surprise to me that anyone would do that."
• "The rhythm of the poem doesn't always work quite right but that certainly doesn't take away from the story."
• "But the other deal breaker is that the illustrations are unbelievable/not to scale."
• "What I didn't realize until I got it home and opened it to read it was that the original, charming illustrations which emphasized the Christmas tree by having it be the only thing in color have been replaced with garish, gaudy, ugly things that have so much overdone color that they basically look like cheap comic books."

Story and Writing

Pros:

• "Mr. Willowby still has the same appeal for kids today. That's a true classic!"
• "I like how the moral of the story is to recycle, and pass on what you don't use."
• "Sweet story with sing-song text and cute illustration of the Christmas tree that becomes part of every creature in the household’s Xmas."
• "Story is told in rhyme and has a special little surprise ending!"
• "Very well written and illustrated."
• "This is one of the most charming tales of a Christmas tree ever read and how much happiness and cheer it brings to so many characters in the book. It is truly a classic, in my opinion."
• "Wonderful Christmas story of sharing. Everyone uses a small part of 1 Christmas tree, the top is lopped off each time and a smaller animal decorates/reclaims it to have his/her own tree."

Cons:

• "But there is nothing morally good or meaningful about any of the characters tossing their topper and not caring whether it goes in the trash."
• "All this is is a cute repetitive rhyme about one man’s trash becoming another man’s treasure… that is all."

Emotional Connection and Tradition

Pros:

• "Reading this story aloud is a Christmas tradition in my family, going back over five decades."
• "This is a Christmas tradition from when I was a child & I read this to my children & now I am reading it to my Grandchildren."
• "Even though my kids are grown, this book comes out every Christmas and sits on the coffee table."
• "My Grandpa used to read this story to me."
• "This secular Christmas story shows the joy of giving and receiving, even if accidentally."
• "It has been a family favorite since Capt. Kangaroo shared it on his show so many years ago when our three girls were little."
• "My mother read this to us every Christmas growing up and it's definitely become a piece of childhood for me."

Cons:

• "I myself was reminded how lost the 'Christmas Spirit' is more and more becoming as the 'spirit of consumerism' is taking its place."