Ann Estelle is very busy working on The List. The Queen of Christmas knows there's nothing more important! How else can she get all the things she really wants?

As the Christmas countdown moves along, there's so much for the Queen to do! Sledding, baking, singing, trimming the tree.... Ann Estelle wants to enjoy every minute. But will she manage to get The List finished in time for Santa? What's the lesson Ann Estelle really learns?

Festive artwork, brimming with good cheer and cozy detail,invites readers into Ann Estelle's world as Mary Engelbreit tells an unforgettable, merry, and heart-warming Christmas story.

Greeting card designer Mary Engelbreit, who transitioned into picture book illustrator with best-selling The Night Before Christmas, pens the first of a series of stories about likable young Ann Estelle. Ann, the self-appointed Queen of Christmas, has been working on "The List" since just after Christmas last year. After all, if she forgets anything, "that would make Christmas not quite as wonderful as it should be." So, although she has a marvelous time ice-skating with Grandma, perhaps a sparkly red skating outfit would make it better. And going sledding with her father on his old wooden sled is great, but still, it might be nice to have a brand-new plastic one.

It might sound as though Ann Estelle should really be called the Spoiled Princess of Christmas, but in truth, she’s just a normal little girl bedazzled by the "golden gift-getting opportunity" of Christmas. And--with no parental prodding whatsoever--our little heroine closes the story with the kind of moral every parent would like to hear: "Oh, Dad, it’s not just the presents that matter. Don’t you know that?" (Ages 4 to 8)

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　--Emilie Coulter

PreSchool-During the seven days before Christmas, Ann Estelle engages in fun activities like baking cookies and going ice-skating. Most importantly, she continues to add items to the wish list that she has been keeping since last year. On Christmas day, she finally realizes that it's the fun she has had with family and friends, and not the presents, that is the most important part of the holiday. The illustrations, in typical Engelbreit style, are flat and stiff, but colorful and quirky enough to have child appeal. The story, however, is too uneventful and staid to invite repeat readings.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　-E. M.

Mary Engerbreit grew up studying the illustrations in the vintage storybooks of her mother's childhood, and she developed a unique style that harkens back to those simpler times. When Mary began her carrer, her greeting cards were an instant success, and now her distinctive images have made her a celebrity to millions who eagerly snap up gift items, calendars, books, fabrics, and more.

Mary's dearest wish has always been to illustrate for children. Her edition of The Night Before Christmas positively glows with the sense of wonder, spirited wit, and nostalgic warmth that is is her signature around the world. Now, here is the first of a charming series of stories about Mary Engelbreit's irrepressible alter ego. Ann Estelle.

length: (cm)26.2 　　　 　　　　　 　 width:(cm)23