Author Allen Northcutt’s fun-filled holiday tale weaves a whimsical “ugly duckling” story of animal friends that love an amiable but tattered moose whose name is “Ugly”. This picture book introduces eleven animal characters in rhyme as they join Ugly on a snowy trip through the woods to Momma and Poppa Bears’ house. There, a Christmas eve party is made very special when Ugly gives unselfishly of himself to overcome a forgotten Christmas tree. The story addresses everyday issues of how “Ugly” names are hurtful and it is not nice to exclude someone from a group because they are different. In the end the animals embrace Ugly as part of their group and change his name to Chris Moose, because it sounds so much like Christmas and is what his spirit is all about. Christie Morris’ captivating and humorous illustrations add magic to this soon-to-be-classic Christmas story.
