Evicted from her favorite napping spot, when the armchair must be moved to make room for the tree; shut out of the bedroom, with its intriguing wrapping paper that she'd hoped to explore; and chased away from the appealing plum pudding on the kitchen table, Tosca was not a very happy cat: "She sat under the tree and sulked. Tosca didn't like Christmas very much. Everyone was always too busy enjoying themselves to think of her. And nobody ever remembered to give her a present." When she is put out in the cold snow, all because she was trying to reach the angel on top of the tree, in order to ask for a present, it is the last straw! But then a portly man in a red and white suit arrives, with his chuckle, and his soft lap, and sets all to rights...

The very first picture-book that cat illustrator extraordinaire Anne Mortimer worked on - by coincidence, I first encountered her work in another picture-book that included cats and Christmas, Santa's Snow Cat - Tosca's Christmas combines a sweet story with gorgeous artwork! The author really captures the cat's-eye view of things - how frustrating, to have so many intriguing smells, sounds and activities around, and not be able to investigate them, without getting into trouble with the humans! - while Mortimer, as one would expect, captures the beauty of the feline form itself. Recommended to anyone looking for feline-friendly Christmas tales, and to fans of the artist. ( )