CLARICE BEAN, THINK LIKE AN ELF

For Clarice and her extended family, the Christmas season brings a busy whirl of preparations, crises, and surprises.

Unchanged in age or temperament since her last outing in 2006’s Clarice Bean, Don’t Look Now, Clarice expresses concerns about keeping up the Christmas spirit while recording such promising signs of the season as the lighting of a special Advent candle in place of the usual calendar with chocolates (which they no longer have due to issues with pilfering). It’s time to compile a list for Santa, make and deliver greeting cards, and learn all the words to “The Twelve Days of Christmas” before the school carol concert. Not to mention making fudge for family presents (how hard can it be?), decorating a tree with minimal breakage of heirloom ornaments, and wondering what happened to the Christmas turkey that somehow is no longer in the fridge. On nearly every page, Child’s effervescent mix of sketches and collages stylishly records highs and low on the way to a satisfying, climactic gathering that includes Clarice’s parents, three sibs, grandpa, uncles, aunt, cousins, and best friend Betty Moody’s family (excepting her brown-skinned aunt and cousins, the cast reads as White). Clarice’s account, typographical flights and all, is printed in red, which does underscore the festive air but carries legibility issues that become acute on occasional pages where the white backgrounds turn brown or green.

A warm and bustling Christmas story: “exceptionordinarily” joyful.