Kerilynn Wilson’s debut picture book captures one little girl’s walk to her grandparents’ house as an adventure of ingenuity and courage. Filled with dazzling artwork and sparse text, this will sit perfectly on shelves next to The Polar Express, and is sure to be enjoyed at Christmas and all year round.

ONE FOGGY CHRISTMAS EVE
by Kerilynn Wilson
HarperCollins, September 2024
(via Writers House)

© Peter Mahar Photography

On Christmas Eve, a girl ties a red ribbon on a present and exclaims, “I finally finished my gift for Nana and Papa!” Outside her window, though, is not the typical, snow-covered, late December scene. In fact, it’s so foggy outside that the girl can barely see past her own front door. The world is warped, colourless, and unfamiliar. . . maybe even a little scary. But the girl is determined: she will find a way to bring her Christmas gift to Nana and Papa’s.

Undeterred, she takes matters into her own hands and decides to light her own way to her grandparents’ house. But when her torch and fairy lights both fail her, the murky night feels full of fantastical shapes and fearsome creatures, and our hero not only finds herself entirely lost in the fog, but also loses the present she’s been carrying. That’s when an awesome herd of elk-shaped shadows with twinkling horns emerge. Summoning both confidence and trust, but without her Christmas gift, the girl allows the elk to direct her to her grandparents’ door. (Her accompanying parents, it turns out, look a lot like elk in the fog.)

After everything, she laments arriving at her grandparents’ house empty-handed. She describes her fantastical journey to her Nana. . . and in doing so, realizes she is already in possession of a gift even better than the one she lost on the way. Ultimately, this book is all about the gift of sharing your imagination and your story with those you love.

Kerilynn Wilson is an author/illustrator with a love of the weird and wonderful. Her debut YA graphic novel, The Faint of Heart, published in 2023. ONE FOGGY CHRISTMAS EVE is her picture book debut.