Nick Cannon, husband of  singer Mariah Carey, and father to twins Moroccan and Monroe (Roc & Roe) has taken the traditional Christmas carol THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS and updated it the new lyrics.

Today’s children will identify more readily with the items Roc and Roe are hanging on their Christmas tree, then with the items in the traditional song, i.e. a partridge in a pear tree. The traditional melody easily fits the new words for most lines. The words for the ‘7th day’ have the correct number of syllables, but the words themselves do not slip easily off of the tongue when sung.

AG Ford puts whimsical action into his illustrations as the pages build one day at a time to the twelfth day climax.

“On the twelfth day of Christmas, Roc and Roe put on their Christmas tree

twelve chugging choo-choos, eleven teddy bears, ten candy canes, nine jumping Jacks [Jack’s their dog],

eight tiny reindeer, seven balloons with bows, six festive fairies, FIVE GOLDEN BELLS,

four skiing snowmen, three “pip” photos, two singing Santas,

and an angel with sparkly, shiny wings.”