Written by: Vashanti Rahaman.

Illustrated by: Frané Lessac.

A story of wishing, handling disappointment, and enjoying the holidays.

Anslem desperately wants a real Christmas tree. And although the older and wiser people in his life try to tell him, in different ways, “It don’t take tree to make Christmas,” he is bitterly disappointed when the entire shipment of real Christmas trees arrives, dead. Determined to have a real Christmas tree, he takes matters into his own hands, with mixed results. Ultimately, he is able to feel a real Christmas in the tastes and smells of Christmas ham, black cake, and ginger and sorrel drinks, in his own good-humored family and kind neighbors, and in the real poinsettias blooming outside the window.

This review — and more about this book — can be found on the Guest Post: Five Books Celebrating Caribbean Christmas.