All the houses on a certain fashionable city street were lived in except one, until unfashionable Mr. Crockett moved in. He fixed up the run-down brownstone, and the following spring he planted a dismal little tree in front of it. “Beauty is as beauty does,” he had told the neighborhood florist from whom he bought the plant on the previous Christmas Eve. Years passed. Mr. Crockett’s bread crumbs encouraged birds to come to the tree. Seeing the birds flock there was encouragement for young brown-skinned David join Mr. Crockett on the stoop to enjoy them. More years passed. A small miracle occurred, the kind of small secular miracle occasioned by gentle acts and the possibility of wonder. First published as a picture book in 1972, Nascimbene’s subdued watercolor palette and stylized forms are a perfect new complement to Zolotow’s understated, timeless fable. (Ages 4-8)

Mr. Crockett is neither handsome nor fashionable, but he knows a secret--all things need love and care. With years of attention and patience, he transforms his shabby brownstone into an elegant home and brings a scrawny, neglected tree to life, teaching his critical neighbors that beauty can be found in unexpected places.
Yan Nascimbene’s striking illustrations breathe new life into this holiday classic, originally published in 1972, that gently captures the true meaning of Christmas.