The Little Fir Tree    by Margaret Wise Brown & Jim Lamarche Order:  USA  Can HarperCollins, 2005 (1954) Hardcover, Softcover Read an Excerpt      Reviewed by Hilary Williamson You can see all the innocence of childhood and anticipation of Christmas in the eyes of the little boy in Jim Lamarche's cover illustration of Margaret Wise Brown's The Little Fir Tree. It opens, 'A little fir tree stood by the edge of a forest, a little way off from the great green trees.' In the fir tree's seventh Winter, he feels 'a little lonesome in his littleness.' He wants to be part of something. Then a man comes out of the forest, tenderly digs him up, and takes him 'to a great Celebration' - with a little boy who has a lame leg and can't go into the forest himself. Inside the man's house, the little tree is 'green, and pungent, and warm', the family decorate him with tinsel and bells, icicles and stars, and they sing the boy's own version of O Christmas Tree. After the holidays, the man takes the tree carefully back to the woods, and every winter brings him to the Celebration once more. But one year it snows early - will the man come? This heartwarming classic (beautifully illustrated in this edition) carries the spirit of the holiday along with a lonely fir tree and the eager young face of a beloved little boy. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Kids books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews