Jingle Bells
Iza Trapani, author and illustrator
Iza Trapani has written and illustrated several books for children including the best-selling Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star; The Itsy Bitsy Spider; and Baa Baa Black Sheep. She lives in the Hudson Valley in New York.
Read more about Iza.
Coulee Parenting Connection
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way to Mexico, Sweden, the Philippines, Poland, Italy, Kenya, and the U.S. in the book Jingle Bells, as told by Iza Trapani. Children brave a snowstorm to fly to various holiday festivities and learn the traditional customs, from breaking pinatas in Mexico, to lighting candles on Christmas trees in Pland and caroling in Kenya. A great way to celebrate diverse holiday traditions, this book is fun to read and sing along.
Parent Wise Austin
The song is so familiar that words are hardly needed, but the illustrations and new verses make this version perfect for family sharing this holiday season. Trapani, noted for her illustrated renditions of other popular children's songs, adds verses that take the celebration to Mexico, Sweden, Kenya, and other countries. In the Philippines people parade lanterns they've made, in Italy la Befana fills shoes with candles, and in Mexico we join las posadas. Each two page watercolor illustration shows kids, adults, and animals engaged in a traditional activity and snowy scenes of a horse-drawn sleigh carrying children on their world tour connect the different cultures. The final scene shows all of the children from all over, including a child using a wheelchair, enjoying cookies and cocoa in front of a fireplace. An appended list of holiday traditions further explains how Christmas is celebrated in these six other cultures. While the text and illustrations are intended for preschool children, the entire family can join in the fun.
Washington Parent
In Jingle Bells, a one-horse open sleigh spirits young readers to Christmas celebrations 'round the world. Author/illustrator Iza Trapani brings a sense of adventure to the well-known ditty with additional lyrics and detailed illustrations that show festivities with pinatas in Mexico, lantern parades in the Philippines, carol singing in Kenya and gift-bearing gnomes in Sweden. Kids will love learning more about the various traditions from a note in the back and saying "Merry Christmas" in the different languages. Trapani's watercolors glow with holiday warmth. The double-page spread at the end proves especially endearing, with a brightly decorated room harboring smiling kids from other countries and a carrot-chomping sled horse.
Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-58089-096-0
E-book PDF
ISBN: 978-1-60734-197-0
Ages: 2-5
Page count: 32
8 1/2 x 11