All I Want for Christmas Is You

by Mariah Carey, Colleen Madden

Overview

Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You, one of the bestselling and most beloved songs of all time, brings Christmas joy to countless listeners of all ages every year. And now its classic lyrics will bring that same holiday spirit to readers of all ages in this one-of-a-kind picture book! Full of festive December moments with family, friends, presents, and of course, Santa Claus—and featuring lively yuletide illustrations—All I Want for Christmas Is You will become a cherished part of your family's Christmas traditions for many years to come.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399551406
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	11/10/2015
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	577,312
File size:	31 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

MARIAH CAREY is the bestselling female musical artist of all time, with more than 200 million albums sold and eighteen Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles, more than any solo artist in history. She is the recipient of multiple Grammy Awards, twenty American Music Awards, Billboard’s Artist of the Decade Award, the World Music Award for World’s Bestselling Female Artist of the Millennium, and BMI’s Icon Award. For more information, visit mariahcarey.com.

COLLEEN MADDEN is the author and illustrator of several children's books. She lives in the Philadelphia area with her husband and two sons.

Editorial Reviews

09/14/2015
How do you take a song with a line like “I just want you here tonight,/ holding on to me so tight” and make it work in a children’s book? Turn it into a story about a girl who wants a pet dog more than anything for Christmas. Using this approach, Carey’s classic 1994 Christmas song translates quite well to the picture book format and audience. Madden’s artwork is integral to the book’s success, adding humorous touches throughout: her heroine (whose ash-blonde hair sweeps in front of one eye in a very Careylike manner) spends her pre-Christmas days baking dog-shaped cookies, making dog-themed ornaments, and building a snowdog, surrounded by a multicultural cast of children and adults. Does Santa “make wish come true?” Well, mom does. The repetitiveness of the lyrics is noticeable, but since most families will be singing, not reading, along with this one, it’s hardly a problem. Ages 3–7. Author’s agent: Simon Green, CAA. Illustrator’s agent: Mela Bolinao, MB Artists. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"All we want for Christmas is this!" —USA Today

"All I Want For Christmas Is You is the gift that keeps on giving." —Entertainment Weekly

“[A] beautifully illustrated new picture book which brings Mariah’s holiday classic to life." —Buzzfeed

"Marvelous . . . Oh, Santa! It's a vision of love." —Examiner.com

"A pleasingly multiethnic cast of characters . . . the mood of the pictures matches the song's overall pep." - Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2015-10-06
Carey's zillion-selling Christmas song is paired with pictures that put a slightly different spin on the original's romantic yearning. A picture of mini-Mariah hugging a white-and-brown terrier puppy on the cover establishes the tone. As the story opens, the little girl walks past a storefront advertising "Puppy Love Adoption" and spends the next several pages incorporating dogs into her Christmas preparations: she draws pictures of dogs and makes dog-shaped cookies, a dog puppet, a snowdog, etc. Around her, her siblings likewise prepare, sometimes in clever counterpoint. Mini-Mariah sits reading a book about dogs while her siblings compose comically extensive lists as the text reads, "I won't make a list and send it to the North Pole for Saint Nick." Madden creates a standard-issue snowy American suburb with a pleasingly multiethnic cast of characters. Carey's own ethnically mixed heritage is hinted at with an African-American grandmother and Caucasian grandfather; the protagonist's siblings all have light-brown skin and short, curly, dark hair. This creates a jarring dissonance with mini-Mariah, who is depicted with her signature flowing, blonde locks flopping conspicuously over one eye. Readers familiar with the song will wonder how any picture book might jibe with Carey's vocal rendition, suffused with sexual longing in its first verse, but the mood of the pictures matches the song's overall pep. The book's biggest problem is that the direct address to "you" throughout the song is developmentally out of sync with the younger members of its audience, who will be thinking, "Who, me?" instead of the hoped-for dog every time the text iterates "you." An unsuccessful adaptation. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews

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