A Porcupine in a Pine Tree

by Rumour Miller on December 5, 2010

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Marcus, our elf, brought the girls new books.  They were waiting for them to open yesterday morning.  Piper got, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” – Dr. Seuss and Davilyn got, “A Porcupine in a Pine Tree” – Helaine Becker.  If you are looking for a Canadian classic, this is going to be it. I said so, that’s why. Seriously though, it’s great and you just might have to be Canadian to understand.

It’s a spin on the Christmas Carol “Twelve Days of Christmas”, so keep that tune in mind when you are reading it.

On the first day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me,
A porcupine in a pine tree.

On the second day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me,
Two caribou
And a porcupine in a pine tree.

On the third day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me,
Three beaver tails
Two caribou
And a porcupine in a pine tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me,
Four calling moose
Three beaver tails
Two caribou
And a porcupine in a pine tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me,
Five Stanley Cups
Four calling moose
Three beaver tails
Two caribou
And a porcupine in a pine tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me,
Six squirrels curling,
Five Stanley Cups,
Four calling moose,
Three beaver tails,
Two caribou,
And a porcupine in a pine tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Seven sled dogs sledding,
Six squirrels curling,
Five Stanley Cups,
Four calling moose,
Three beaver tails,
Two caribou,
And a porcupine in a pine tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Eight Mounties munching,
Seven sled dogs sledding,
Six squirrels curling,
Five Stanley Cups,
Four calling moose,
Three beaver tails,
And a porcupine in a pine tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Nine loons canoeing,
Eight Mounties munching,
Seven sled dogs sledding,
Six squirrels curling,
Five Stanley Cups,
Four calling moose,
Three beaver tails,
And a porcupine in a pine tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Ten Leafs a-leaping,
Nine loons canoeing,
Eight Mounties munching,
Seven sled dogs sledding,
Six squirrels curling,
Five Stanley Cups,
Four calling moose,
Three beaver tails,
And a porcupine in a pine tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Eleven puffins piping,
Ten Leafs a-leaping,
Nine loons canoeing,
Eight Mounties munching,
Seven sled dogs sledding,
Six squirrels curling,
Five Stanley Cups,
Four calling moose,
Three beaver tails,
And a porcupine in a pine tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Twelve cubs a-dancing,
Eleven puffins piping,
Ten Leafs a-leaping,
Nine loons canoeing,
Eight Mounties munching,
Seven sled dogs sledding,
Six squirrels curling,
Five Stanley Cups,
Four calling moose,
Three beaver tails,
And a porcupine in a pine tree.

So don’t walk, run to your nearest bookstore and buy a copy!  Your kids will love it again and again!

*I was not asked to write this review and the opinions here are my very own.  I just really really love this book!

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{ 3 comments }

Kir December 6, 2010 at 2:43 pm

too cute, my favorite..via my huge HOCKEY FAN husband…is 5 Stanley CUPS 🙂
LOL

Alice Hanson February 4, 2011 at 11:35 pm

This is great – except for the fact that this book is a BLATANT RIP-OFF of ‘A Moose in a Maple Tree’, published several years earlier by Polyglot Publishing. THAT is the Canadian classic, NOT this BLATANT THEFT. Here is a link to the book plus the lyrics:

http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/vol15/no2/amooseinamaple.html

A Moose in a Maple Tree includes the lyrics:

On the twelfth day of Christmas
a Canuck sent to me
12 skiers skiing
11 sled dogs mushing
10 salmon leaping
9 mounties riding
8 lobsters nipping
7 beavers building
6 whales breaching
5 hockey sticks
4 totem poles
3 snowmen
2 polar bears
AND
A moose in a maple tree!

This is an outrage. Buy ‘A Moose in a Maple Tree,’ not this forgery!!!

Julia Wagner October 27, 2014 at 10:43 am

This is not a rip off. It’s another take on a classic. How many dog-barking jingle bells are out there? Rude Christmas hits? Jazz or crooner-style Christmas albums? Lots. Too many really. But the reason why is because every time you re-do a Christmas song, it’s a little different. It’s tragic if people are mistaking this book for the other, but I like them both and they’re quite different than one another. It seems there’s plenty of Canadian to go around. There is no copy-right controversy here, just two Canadiana- reinterpretations of the same song. This can happen, and it’s okay! There’s landmass and Canadian sterotypes and imagery enough for everybody! Also: I’m not getting paid by anyone for anything. I just like both of these versions, and think kids would too. Infact I’d love to hear some of the unique 12 days of Christmas books they might make, even if they featured Canadiana too! Maybe we could compile some of their ideas into a book and it could sit on the shelf next to these. I still wouldn’t consider it copyright infringing or forgery. I’d be happy to see more books in a style and genre and on a topic that’s interesting to kids. That’s my two cents!

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