Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve?

Who's that Knocking on Christmas Eve?
Jan Brent
Traditional literature
Penguin Young Publishers (2002)
k-3

This book begins when a boy from Finnmark smelled smoke in the distance while on a journey with a polar bear to Oslo. The boy is very cold and hungry so he heads toward the house for warmth. He knocks softly on the door. Inside the house there is a girl named Kyri baking. she is nervous about opening the door because in the past a pack of trolls have broken in and eaten all their Christmas food. She is pleasantly surprised to see the boy and his polar bear. She tells the boy about the trolls and that her father has gone out to try to stop the trolls. The boy does not fear the trolls. Soon after, the trolls came banging on the door. The two barricaded the door and lock the window but the trolls manage to get in through the cellar. they stuffed themselves with the food until one of the trolls unwisely burnt the nose of the polar bear which he thought was a cat. the polar bear angrily ran the trolls off. The girl's father returned and the three made the best of the food that was left. A year later One of the Trolls asked Kyri if she still had that kitty. She informed them that the kitty had grown into a cat and had more kittens. the troll said that they would not be visiting this year if that was the case.

This story was based on a Norwegian folk tale from long ago. I thing that this book could be used to teach students about folklore as well as life so far north. The book could also be used to tell the students about the Northern Lights that were mentioned in the book. I really liked this book. it was entertaining and funny. Those trolls had a hack of a time with that BIG kitty. I also liked how the trolls were portrayed as pesky not evil. This is important to note because things that look different from us are often portrayed as evil.

The background of these double page illustrations were airbrushed by Joseph Hearne and the rest of the illustrations were done in watercolor. These Illustrations were very pretty. the detail was amazing and the trolls were even kind of cute despite their behavior. I feel that the illustrations added to the story but I defiantly feel that this book could have been quite effective without the help of illustrations.