9 ladies dancing was inspired by women from Swaziland. Eight maids a-milking are milking goats rather than cows. The five gold rings are around a woman’s neck like women in South Africa.

While the words remain the same as the traditional carol, Isadora interprets them in a new way. Isadora takes the Christmas carol and turns it into a celebration of both the holiday and Africa. I have been a fan of Isadora’s retellings of classic European fairy tales with an African flair and this is no exception. Oh well! If you like Rachel Isadora, get this for the illustrations but not as a Christmas book. It just seems misleading-or maybe I missed something. Moreover, there is nothing to do with Christmas in the illustrations so it's not even as if it's showing an African variation on Christmas (which could have offered rich possibilities given that many people in Africa do practice or at least incorporate Christianity now). And, while I appreciate the author's note about the various countries and events that inspired the illustrations (The “five golden rings” refer to the rings worn around the necks of women in South Africa, the “lords a-leaping” come from Mali, and the “ladies dancing” come from Swaziland.), I feel the art could have been served so much better by an actual story. It's basically the 12 Days of Christmas song paired with African-setting illustrations. The art is still very nice, but the overall package seemed, dare I say it, unnecessary. Wish I liked it more than I did, especially since I tend to love African books and African themed art and I also like Rachel Isadora, both her ballet books and her African art such as her version of 'Rapunzel.' But, in this case, I am sorry to say, I wasn't wowed.

Eager me I've had this 2010 Christmas book on the holds list for weeks and got to be one of the first to check it out, all shiny and new, from the library.

Rapunzel by Rachel Isadora