A little chipmunk wonders what Christmas really is in this sweet new holiday picture-book from author/illustrator Tom Booth. He asks his mother, as they travel around the forest, whether this and that thing - the presents carried by ladybugs, the carols sung by geese - are Christmas. Yes, she tells him, these are each part of it. But what is it, in total? The next morning, awakening to a snowy world and joining a diverse group of animals singing, he finds out...

Although I would imagine that more religious readers might contest the claim that this - the sense of communal good cheer and fellowship displayed by the animals in their singing - is what Christmas is, for other more secular readers, there is sure to be some appeal to Booth's This Is Christmas. The idea that gifts, carols, and decorations are part of the holiday, but not the holiday itself, is a welcome one. The artwork is cute, although a little too smoothly digital for my taste, and chipmunk makes for an appealing little animal hero. Recommended to more secular holiday celebrants looking for sweet animal-centered Christmas stories. ( )