[BOOK REVIEW] Petunia's Christmas by Roger Duvoisin

Title:  Petunia's Christmas

Author:  Roger Duvoisin


Genre: Animal /  Christmas / Drama


Year Published: 1952


Year Read: 2013


Series: Petunia

Publisher:  Knopf Books for Young Readers

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Threat of Death)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

After reading Roger Duvoisin’s classic children’s book “Petunia,” I was dying to read more of everyone’s famous good-hearted goose!  So, I had just recently picked up another one of Roger Duvoisin’s “Petunia” books called “Petunia’s Christmas” and I enjoyed it just as much as the first book!

The book starts off with Petunia meeting a handsome gander named Charles on a neighboring farm called Windy Farm and she soon discovers that Charles will be eaten by the farmer and his wife on Christmas day.  So, Petunia tries to figure out a way to get Charles out of this horrifying predicament.

After reading “Petunia,” I was excited to check out the sequel “Petunia’s Christmas” and I was not disappointed with the results!  Roger Duvoisin had done a brilliant job at writing this story as the story is both heartwarming and intense at the same time. I loved the fact that Petunia is a bit more mature in this book than she was in the first book and I loved the fact that Petunia was willing to do anything to save Charles from being eaten on Christmas Day. It really showed how caring and determined Petunia really is and I just felt so much emotion for her character.  Roger Duvoisin’s illustrations are simplistic yet colorful to look at as it brings a unique tone to the story.  I loved the way that Petunia and Charles are drawn, as they look like simpler versions of gooses and ganders, but there is much detail in their feathers and their wings that it made them look halfway realistic.  I also loved the way that the trees were being drawn during the winter scenes as they look realistic and gave the forest scenes more depth.

Parents should know that the scenes where Charles is being threatened of being eaten by the farmer and his wife might scare smaller children.  Even though these scenes are not too graphic in detail and the story concentrates more on Petunia’s attempts to help Charles, parents might want to read over this book first to see if their children can handle this sensitive subject.

Overall, “Petunia’s Christmas” is a fantastic story about the importance of love and knowing the true meaning of Christmas that many children will enjoy for many years!  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the subject of Charles possibly being eaten on Christmas Day might scare smaller children.