This was very simple but I really liked this nice story of friendship. ( )

Determined not to miss Christmas this year, Mister Frog stays up, planning the perfect holiday celebration. When he gets a little sleepy and takes a nap however, he awakens to discover that it's Christmas Eve and he's missed his chance to buy all the trimmings he needs for the big day. Has his first Christmas been ruined? Or will the arrival of three separate Santas set everything to rights...?

One of four seasonal chapters originally included in Tomie dePaola's 1977 collection, Four Stories for Four Seasons, where it was simply entitled "Winter," this sweet holiday tale was first published separately as a picture-book in 2002, and in this edition in 2009. I have not read the collection, nor any of the other individually presented stories (Four Friends in Autumn, Four Friends in Summer) from it, but I enjoyed Four Friends at Christmas all the same. The story covers ground I have seen explored before - it's often a bear who misses Christmas, because of hibernation, but decides to stay up - but in an engaging way. The artwork has that vintage dePaola charm. Recommended to anyone looking for sweet stories of friendship at Christmas, or who is a dePaola fan. ( )