Two Evergreen Tales for Christmas Eve: Carl's Christmas and Max's Christmas Stocking

That righteous Rottweiler Carl can be counted upon for a Christmas Eve fantasy just right for the board book set.

An almost wordless book, Carl's Christmas (Carl) begins with the cheery parents giving Carl his orders of the evening: "We're going to Grandma's and then to church. Take care of the baby, Carl!" (Warning: Carl is a professional fantasy character; don't try this at home!)

In a festive mood, Carl dresses the baby warmly, helps him decorate a potted plant "tree" downstairs, and then takes the toddler out for a night on the town. Carl wins a Christmas basket in a crafts store and he and the baby follow the directions on a street sign--FOR THE NEEDY--and donate the basket to the poor, the baby adding his own flap cap to their donation.

As the baby rides Carl's back around the holiday-ready town, they watch little kids looking hopefully up their chimney and join a group of merry carolers, where the baby is given a scarf to replace his cap and Carl lends his voice to the songs.

Back home dog and baby sleep before the warm fire until a surprised Carl awakes to find Santa and reindeer at the front door. Carrying Santa's pack on his own back, he helps Santa set up the gifts for the humans and their cats. Santa himself gently puts Carl's new collar around his neck and then does the old up-the-chimney thing for the amazed dog.

At last Carl returns the toddler to his crib and, true to his mission, falls asleep on the rug beside his charge. The final page shows a closeup of Carl's big pawprint in the snow.

"R-U-B-Y spells Ruby," says Max's sister Ruby.

"Now Santa will know which stocking is which. We don't want Santa to make a mistake."

Despite Ruby's careful stocking labels, however, Santa has a sudden attack of dyslexia. At least, it seems that way when Max happily begins to unload his stocking on Christmas morning. Ruby watches with dismay as Max gleefully pulls out the gifts that were on her list.

Max was thrilled. He loved his diamond tiara, his butterfly wings, and his Princess Marvella accessories.

Obviously, things need a bit of sorting out here, and with big sister Ruby in charge, they will be. Rosemary Wells' Max's Christmas Stocking (Max Board Books), with the scary premise that Santa makes mistakes providing the suspense, is a great choice for preschoolers looking forward to Christmas morning themselves.