A boldly illustrated bedtime story that imagines what it would be like to have a snuggly and super-strong polar bear for a pet.--

Mama Bear explains to Baby Cub how God gave Christmas to the world.

'Twas the night before Christmas, when the North Pole's Peppermint Post Office is anything but quiet! Postmaster Buck and his crew of penguins can't rest until all of Santa's letters and gifts are sorted and on Santa's sleigh. But what happens when Buck discovers a lost letter after the reindeer already left the North Pole?

"Bear and Mouse have finally overcome their differences and are living together in perfect harmony...until it's time to decorate the Christmas tree! Bear wants dazzling lights, while Mouse prefers gigantic ornaments. Did Mouse just put a manatee on the top of the tree? After Bear attempts an upside-down tree, it looks as if Christmas might be ruined for the pair. But maybe, just maybe, Bear and Mouse can reach a compromise in the spirit of the season"--...

Veering from the convivial, scene-centered graphic interpretation often associated with this classic, Würbs offers a sparer take, narrowing each scene to softly focused images that are more suggestive than representational. The poem's opening lines are accompanied by an image of a lone candle burning in a brass candleholder, and the sleigh's rooftop landing shows two shadowy reindeer heads emerging from behind a foregrounded stone chimney. Santa's...