The Christmas House: Behind the Art

A great children's book is one families return to again and again, not just for the story, but for the little details waiting to be discovered on every page.

That's exactly what illustrator Adam Trest hoped to create with The Christmas House.

"When I first read the manuscript," Adam says, "I knew I wanted the book to feel full. I could already picture the baking scenes because that's such a major part of Christmas in my house. I wanted those pages to almost feel dusted with flour."

Those thoughtful details are woven throughout the book. Some even tell stories all their own.

"My favorite was painting the Christmas lights," Adam says. "The dad is wrestling with the outdoor lights throughout the entire book. It's never mentioned in the text, but it makes me laugh every time I look at it." 

It's those quiet surprises that make families want to linger a little longer over each page.

Working alongside Erin Napier has only strengthened Adam's creative process.

"My favorite thing about working with Erin is that we both know when something is working—or when it isn't," he says. "We push each other to do our best work, and I'm always genuinely proud of what we create together."

When asked what he hopes families take away from The Christmas House, Adam's answer had little to do with illustrations.

Every Christmas, his family unpacks ornaments collected over generations—each one connected to someone they love or a memory they want to keep close.

"They were never really about the object," he says. "They're touchstones for people we love, people we miss, people we're holding onto."

If The Christmas House becomes part of another family's Christmas tradition, Adam hopes it's for that very reason: not simply because it's a story, but because it becomes part of the memories families create together.