Merry and Hark: A Christmas Story

by April Genevieve Tucholke, Rebecca Santo (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

A new favorite for holiday storytime, this is a delightful picture book about the coexistence of humanity and the planet, steeped in adorable illustrations and a grand adventure.

A heartwarming and whimsical story about the connection between humans and nature, and the magic of Christmas.

Merry has always wanted to go on a grand adventure, like the great Hero Owls from her favorite stories. But she is just a little owl. Little owls don't have adventures. Then one day, Merry falls asleep in her favorite tree—and wakes up in a big, noisy city! Can a little owl on a grand adventure find her way home?

Perfect for city kids and nature lovers alike, Merry and Hark is a cozy read at Christmas and all year round.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643752389
Publisher:	Workman Publishing Company
Publication date:	10/03/2023
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	617,036
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

April Genevieve Tucholke grew up on a farm, where she spent her time wandering the prairie and daydreaming. Her acclaimed, award-winning books have been published in sixteen countries. April lives in Savannah, Georgia. She loves coffee, forests, and gothic cities. Visit her online at apriltucholke.com.

Rebecca Santo is a Cleveland-based illustrator. Since graduating from the Cleveland Institute of Art, she has illustrated for The Washington Post and Cricket Magazine, among others. Rebecca finds inspiration through music, nature, dreams, and the little wonders in day-to-day life. Merry and Hark is her first picture book. Please visit her website at rebeccasanto.com and Instagram at @santodraws.

Editorial Reviews

08/28/2023

Narrator Merry is a northern saw-whet owl with “big yellow eyes that scan the dark world below.” Of the conifers in the forest, Hark is Merry’s favorite—she’s a Norway spruce who is “strong, and proud, and gentle.” In their wood, the owls gather to hear a great gray owl tell stories about Hero Owls “who went on grand adventures”—tales that strike up a yearning in Merry’s heart. Soon afterward, Hark is felled and goes silent, and the two are transported to a city, where Hark is set up as a central Christmas tree. Merry is unable to hunt for food in the landscape, drawn by Santo in textured brick reds and slate blues, but a human portrayed with brown skin finds the owl, nurses it, and returns it to the forest. Though Hark’s silencing may hit readers hard, and Merry’s adventure involves more happenstance than heroics, Tucholke frames the story as the grand adventure Merry wished for, focusing the narrative on the owl and its world. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"A 'merry,' pleasant, and uplifting seasonal offering."—Kirkus Reviews

"The language is poetically descriptive, engaging all senses in depictions of forest and city... This book will broaden the scope of emotions in your Christmas collection and remind little folks they can do big things."
 —School Library Journal

“Tucholke frames the story as the grand adventure Merry wished for…”—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

09/01/2023

K-Gr 2—Merry the saw-whet owl lives in a spruce tree called Hark and dreams of becoming a hero like brave owls of legend. One morning, Merry awakes to the harsh sounds of Hark being cut down. They are transported to a noisy urban area, where Hark is decorated in a city square and Merry is afraid to come out. A kind human finds the owl and cares for her, eventually returning her to the forest, where she has now become a subject of legend. Though not the first fictional outing of an owl based on the real-life Rocky, who was discovered in the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in 2020, this is perhaps the most somber telling. The language is poetically descriptive, engaging all senses in depictions of forest and city. A palette of blues, grays, and browns creates a wintry, dusky atmosphere. Though the bedecked Hark shines with more color, the mood remains pensive and dark. Text vividly describes the city from the perspective of a small, scared creature; but in doing so, it creates an imbalanced impression that urban landscapes are dangerous and malevolent. VERDICT This book will broaden the scope of emotions in your Christmas collection and remind little folks they can do big things.—Rachel Owens.

School Library Journal

2023-08-15
A bird’s extraordinary holiday escapade, inspired by the real-life owl discovered in the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in 2020.

Merry, a northern saw-whet owl, has a favorite tree in the conifer forest: Hark, a Norway spruce. Merry stays warm in a hole in Hark’s trunk and listens to the tree’s stories. Merry also loves listening to Sebastian, a great gray owl, tell thrilling owl myths and longs to experience grand adventures, too. But when Hark is felled, lifted "onto a large, red shiny beast," and taken to a "new world" of "giant structures," Merry's whole world is uprooted. Alone in the big city, Merry has trouble hunting, but a kind brown-skinned woman takes Merry home and expertly cares for the owl; from the window, Merry watches Hark become more beautiful as her branches are decorated with colored lights. When Merry’s health is restored, the woman releases the owl back to the forest, and Merry realizes, “I had a grand adventure.” This gentle tale, narrated by Merry in first “person,” is a quiet, contemplative take on the usual holiday fare. The sweet illustrations, presenting wintry scenes and featuring some dramatic spreads, are mostly muted, with a palette composed largely of blue-grays, browns, ivory, black, and splashes of bright colors. Diminutive, saucer-eyed Merry is endearing and takes center stage throughout. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A “merry,” pleasant, and uplifting seasonal offering. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews