Dream Snow
It's almost Christmas and it hasn't snowed yet. As the farmer naps on  his small farm, he dreams of being covered in a gentle blanket of new snow.  Then, one by one, he dreams of each of his five animals (aptly named One, Two,  Three, Four, and Five) being covered as well. When he awakens, he discovers that  real snow--not dream snow--has fallen. And "Oh my! Oh my! I almost forgot," the  farmer shouts, and, bundling up, hurries out to his tree (named Tree) with a box  and a sack, looking remarkably familiar in his white beard and red suit. After  decorating Tree, the farmer shouts "Merry Christmas to all!" and pushes a button  for a surprise Yuletide jingle.Young fans of Eric Carle'sThe  Very Quiet Cricket,The  Very Clumsy Click Beetle, and other multisensory books, will delight in  pushing the same microchip button the farmer pushes to hear the tinkling, oddly  eerie holiday tune. In an even more unusual departure from standard picture  books, Carle inserts a clear plastic sheet, covered with snowflakes and a white  blanket, before each illustration of the dreaming farmer and his animals. Turn  the plastic page to discover what kind of critter lies beneath the snow. Carle's  magnificent collages, as always, are the heart and soul of his books. (Ages 3 to  8)--Emilie Coulter