319. Tough Cookie: A Christmas Story. Edward Hemingway. 2018/2023. 30 pages. [Source: Library] [Board book]
First sentence: Once upon a time, while Fox was visiting Christmastown, in the Land of Holiday Treats...a little cookie--still warm from the bakery oven--burst out the front door and shouted, "I'm a sweet cookie!"
Premise/plot: Sugar Cookie Man thinks he should be both sweet and fast...but he isn't. Can he learn to be okay with that? Sugar Cookie Man may not realize his purpose, but he does have one.
My thoughts: I liked this one. I have always enjoyed the Gingerbread Man story. This playfully touches on that story...but only a little. It stars a FOX and a COOKIE. The cookie does boast and the fox does give chase. Sugar Cookie Man learns by trial and error that he was baked with a specific purpose in mind. He's not for eating...but for hanging as an ornament on a tree. (If he was an EATING cookie the book would be quite short since the Fox would have gobbled him up by page two or three.)
320. First Stories: A Christmas Carol. Jean Claude. 2018. 8 pages. [Source: Library] [board book]
First sentence: Ebenezer Scrooge found Christmas a bore. "Bah humbug to all of it!" the old man would roar. On Christmas Eve ghosts came--one, two, and three--To show Scrooge how much fun his dull life could be.
Premise/plot: This board book is a simplistic, basic rhyming adaptation of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Can Dickens' classic holiday story be retold in just eight pages? Yes and no. It introduces little ones to the bare bones basics of the story.
It is an interactive adaption. It features activities for little hands on every page. There are things to spin, push, pull, and slide.
My thoughts: Is this the most faithful adaptation? Of course not. Is it a fun interactive book for little ones? Yes. The fact that it is "A Christmas Carol" is more for parents than little ones. But the 'surprise' elements of the interactive nature of it is a treat, I think. I enjoyed, for example, making the holiday dinner appear and disappear from the table. It was just fun.
Is it durable enough to last? It might depend. Not only on your little one, of course. I checked out the library copy. I believe I was the first to do so. One page already has a very loose slide. You pick up the book and it starts sliding down. I was not rough or forceful in my reading. I am a gentle, careful reader.
321. The Very Snowy Christmas. Diana Hendry. Illustrated by Jane Chapman. 2013/2023. 16 pages. [Source: Library] [Board book]
First sentence: It was Christmas Eve. Big Mouse was making cheese pies. Little Mouse was making paper chains. "Merry Christmas to us!" sang Little Mouse. "Big Mouse, can I decorate the tree now? Can I? Can I?
Premise/plot: Big Mouse and Little Mouse are celebrating Christmas together...until they aren't. Little Mouse slips off on his own to go gather some holly. This holly-gathering adventure has a little excitement in it.
My thoughts: This one--for whatever reason--reminded me of the delightful Brown Bear, Snow Bear by Joyce Dunbar. I enjoyed this one very much. It's a sweet and predictable little story to share with little ones. Mice are always cute and adorable in fiction books.
322. My Magical Santa. [Abrams Appleseed Board Books] 8 pages. [Source: Library] [Board book]
First sentence: On a magical sleigh with his gifts piled up high, Santa set off as the elves waved goodbye. Sleigh bells a-ringing, he soared out of sight and raced round the world in only one night!
Premise/plot: Board books without authors have their own standard perhaps by which they should be judged. Or not. This one is part of Abrams' "My Magical..." series. The premise is simple: Santa is....you guessed it...magical.
The "quality" of this one comes in the interactive nature of this one. There are things to spin, push, pull, slide. The text is rhyming, but the text is almost irrelevant. (Perhaps why there is no author credited. Or illustrator for that matter.)
My thoughts: If your little one loves interactive books, then this one might prove serviceable enough. It's a sturdy, holiday-themed board book with plenty of things for little ones to do while parents read aloud the rhyming text.
I would give it two and a half stars if I was actively giving out half stars. I don't think it merits the one star average on GoodReads. It isn't that bad.
323. Touch and Trace Nursery Rhymes: Jingle Bells. Editors of Silver Dolphin Books. 2023. 10 pages. [Source: Library] [Board books]
First sentence: Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way! Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.
Premise/plot: This one includes [some] lyrics from five familiar Christmas songs [jingles]. The songs included are "Jingle Bells," "Let It Snow," "Deck the Halls," "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas." Each song takes up one two-page spread. There are playful illustrations. Each illustration includes a tactile element to "trace." (I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these tracing elements.)
My thoughts: I really loved this one so much. It is so obviously simple yet it is SO enjoyable.
324. Slide and See First Words Christmas. Helen Hughes. Illustrated by Kathryn Selbert. 2023. 12 pages. [Source: Library] [board books]
First sentence: Christmas friends. Elf. Santa Claus. Reindeer. Santa is getting ready for Christmas with help from his friends.
Premise/plot: This interactive board book focuses on the WORDS of Christmas. This interactive book even asks questions with sliding elements to reveal the answers. It also asks more open-ended questions. I really like this aspect of it.
My thoughts: Even the cover of the book is interactive. Little hands can make Santa pop up out of the chimney. This one does have more to offer than some of the other interactive books I've reviewed today. [I'm looking at you, My Magical Santa.] It seems to have some thought and care put into the actual narrative. Yes, it's a vocabulary book in some ways. Perhaps it won't "grow" with your little one every year. But I do think it has something to offer parents and little ones.
© 2023 Becky Laney of Young Readers
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