Tag: christmas

This Little Piggy Went Singing, by Margaret Wild & Deborah Niland

This little piggy went singing
This little piggy stayed home
This little piggy had noodles
This little piggy had none
And this little piggy went toot, toot, toot
all the way home.

Inspired by the traditional ‘This Little Piggy’ rhyme, this delightful Christmas picture book is full of action and humour and little Christmassy details. Every spread has four pigs doing various Christmas related things, and a fifth making music ‘all the way home.’ The five pigs take turns so that it is not the same pig who stays home, or plays music, or has none. As well as making music, the pigs trim the tree, bake, post Christmas cards, eat Christmas treats and more.

The pigs are full of life and. just simply, adorable. Spotting the mouse-friend appears on every spread will entertain young readers.

A lovely way to celebrate Christmas, and also suitable for year-round reading, This Little Piggy Went Singing would make a special gift for a toddler.

 

This Little Piggy Went Singing

This Little Piggy Went Singing, by Margaret Wild & Deborah Niland
Allen & Unwin, 2014
ISBN 9781743319123

Available from good bookstores and online.

Mr Darcy and the Christmas Pudding by Alex Field ill Peter Carnavas

Christmas is the very best time of year, thought Mr Darcy.

Snow was falling as he hung the mistletoe over his front door,

making sure there were enough berries for everyone.

Christmas is the very best time of year, thought Mr Darcy.

Snow was falling as he hung the mistletoe over his front door,

making sure there were enough berries for everyone.

Mr Darcy is making his Christmas Pudding and all of his friends join him for the traditional Stir-Up Sunday. On Stir-Up Sunday, everyone has a turn stirring the Christmas pudding as they close their eyes and make a wish. Everyone is there, everyone except Mr Collins who has been left outside after behaving badly towards Maria.

But kind-hearted Lizzy can’t relax while Mr Collins is outside in the snow and they are warm and safe inside. Mr Darcy relents and everyone has a splendid afternoon of Christmas games and hot chocolate. Illustrations are watercolour with black outline. Some openings feature a single full scene with colours to page edge, while other openings include several smaller scenes set in white space.

This is a third picture book from Alex Field and Peter Carnavas featuring Mr Darcy, Lizzy and other characters of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. As with the others, Mr Darcy and the Christmas Pudding gently examines pride and prejudice and their consequences. This time, there is the addition of a Christmas tradition. Young readers need have no knowledge of the novel from which the characters are drawn to enjoy this story. It’s a tender story of family and sharing, and behaving well. Recommended for pre- and early-schoolers.

Mr Darcy and the Christmas Pudding, Alex Field ill Peter Carnavas New Frontier Publishing 2014 ISBN: 9781925059137

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Matilda Saves Santa Claus by Alex Field ill Sophie Norsa

Matilda Mouse lived deep in the forest.

She poured the last of her milk into a thimble and left her only mince pie out for Santa.

She hung up her stocking and looked around her threadbare house.

More than anything, she wanted a Christmas tree.

Matilda Mouse lived deep in the forest.

She poured the last of her milk into a thimble and left her only mince pie out for Santa.

She hung up her stocking and looked around her threadbare house.

More than anything, she wanted a Christmas tree.

Matilda Mouse is poor but she prepares her last food for Santa, who will be visiting soon. She goes into the cold winter forest to find herself a tree. Narrowly avoiding being eaten by an owl, she happens across Rudolph. He tells her that Santa and his sleigh are caught in vines. Matilda abandons her search for a Christmas tree and secretly helps Santa. She’s too tired to do anything afterwards except crawl into bed. At dawn on Christmas day, she wakes to a very big surprise. Illustrations are soft and loose and combine traditional Christmas colours with soft mauves and blues reflecting the winter world.

Virtue, so the saying goes, is its own reward, but that’s not a message that’s very easy to convey. Matilda Saves Santa Claus introduces this notion as poor but hardworking Matilda seeks out a Christmas tree even if there will be nothing to put under it. She without hesitation abandons her quest to help Santa. It’s unstated, but she is clearly acting to facilitate Christmas deliveries to all homes, not just her own. She doesn’t look for reward, indeed she hides from Santa, but in the morning she is rewarded handsomely. Recommended for preschool and early-schoolers.

 

Matilda Saves Santa Clauss, Alex Field ill Sophie Norsa 2013 ISBN: 9781921928604

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Matilda Saves Santa Claus, by Alex Field & Sophie Norsa

‘We’re stuck,’ said Rudolph. ‘Santa’s sleigh is caught in the forest vines.’

Matilda Mouse lives alone deep in the forest. She doesn’t have much, but one thing she desperately wants is a Christmas tree. On Christmas Eve she goes out searching for a perfect tree – but instead she finds Santa’s sleigh, caught in some vines. She may be small, but Matilda proves that she is both clever and strong, as she chews her way through the vines and frees the sleigh. Then, on Christmas morning, she wakes to find an exciting surprise – Santa has left her a tree and plenty of presents.

Matilda Saves Santa Claus is a gently exciting Christmas tale which will appeal to youngsters around the world. Matilda is brave and resourceful, and her willingness to help is duly rewarded. The story is brought to life in delightful water colour and ink illustrations, with the double page spread showing Rudolph nose to nose with little Matilda especially sweet.

Suitable for pre school aged readers, this would make a lovely Christmas gift.

 

Matilda Saves Santa Claus, by Alex Field, illustrated by Sophie Norsa
New Frontier, 2013
ISBN 9781921928604

Available from good bookstores or online.

Where's Santa? Around the World, by Louis Shea

With another busy Christmas over, Santa is taking Mrs Claus off on a holiday. As they travel around teh world, however, they are pursued by Naughty Nat, the naughtiest child in the world, who wants to steal Santa’s naughty-and-nice list so that she can get the pony she missed out on last Christmas.

Where’s Santa? Around the World is a look and find book perfect for the festive season. As Santa travels around the world to locations including Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, China’s Great Wall and more, youngsters can find him hidden on every spread, as well as Mrs Claus, Naughty Nat, Fluffy (Santa’s pet yeti) and more.

Every spread is filled with detail to explore, and back of book lists challenge readers to find extra objects. great as a gift or stocking filler.

Where’s Santa? Around the World, by Louis Shea
Scholastic, 2013
ISBN 9781742836850

Available from good bookstores or online. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

We Wish You a Ripper Christmas, by Colin Buchanan & Greg Champion, illustrated by Roland Harvey

We wish you a ripper Christmas
A full-bore ripper Christmas
A dead-set ripper Christmas
And a snappy New Year.

Colin Buchanan & Greg Champion have been creating Australian Christmas songs for many years, delighting Aussie youngsters and their teachers and parents with their humour and the catchiness of their tunes. We Wish You a Ripper Christmas continues that tradition, taking the chorus of an earlier offering (included in Fair Dinkum Aussie Christmas) and telling the story of Santa WOmbat losing his naughty and nice list and needing some help from the other Aussie animals to find it in time to deliver the presents.

Set to the tune of We Wish You a Merry Christmas, the song is easy to sing, and children will join in on the chorus even on a first read. The story is humours, and is brought to life in detailed water colour illustrations by the amazing Roland Harvey. And, of course, the book is accompanied by a CD recording of the song, complete with karaoke track so that kids can sing it for themselves, either for performance or for fun.

A great Christmas gift.

 

We Wish You a Ripper Christmas, by Colin Buchanan & Greg Champion, illustrated by Roland Harvey
Scholastic, 2013
ISBN 9781742837239

Available from good bookstores and online.

My Christmas Crackers, by Bronwen Davies

What is Santa’s dog called?
Santa Paws.

How can you tell if Santa is really a werewolf?
He has Santa claws!

If you are looking for a book to add to a Christmas stocking or parcel for a young reader, My Christmas Crackers may well fit the bill. This hard cover offering offers Christmas jokes ranging from the punny to the really very funny, and will appeal to readers from 6-12, though even adults will smile or groan along. Each joke runs over two pages, with the question on one page and the answer overleaf, coupled with humours digital illustrations.

Available from bookstores and online, My Christmas Crackers makes an affordable, entertaining gift.

 

My Christmas Crackers, by Bronwen Davies
Scholastic, 2013
ISBN 9781742839585

Redcap's Christmas, by Susan Cason & Ben Wood

Redcap strides along the path to the snow goose airstrip. He’s on his way!
He practices what he’ll say when he gets there. ‘Hi, I’m Redcap. I’m the son of Twist and Tippy-toe. I’m hard-working and honest. I’m clever and cheerful.’ He smiles his biggest smile. ‘And I’m looking for a job.’
The job he’s dreamed of for weeks and months and years.
The job.
In the workshop.
At the North Pole.
Working with the greatest elf of them all.

Redcap is a hard working young elf who wants nothing more than to work at the North Pole and to meet the greatest elf of them all – Santa Claus. Getting a job doesn’t prove too hard – but keeping it might prove more than a little difficult, especially with the kind of help his new friend Jellybean has to offer. There’s a week to go until Christmas and it seems that every day has a new challenge for Redcap and the other elves. Will he keep his job and get to meet Santa?

Redcap’s Christmas is a delightful Christmas offering for young readers, following Redcap’s adventures in the lead up to Christmas. Each chapter is a new adventure, seeing a new problem arise at Santa’s workshop, with Redcap playing the leading role in coming up with a solution. Although suitable for solo reading, it is easy to see this being read aloud one chapter per night as a pre-Christmas treat.

Illustrations are a mix of grey scale images on most pages, with one full page coloured illustration at the beginning of each chapter, and the hardcover format makes for a sturdy offering, perfect for a gift.

 

Redcap’s Christmas, by Susan Cason & Ben Wood
Omnibus, 2013
ISBN 9781742990217

Available from good bookstores and online.

Bethlehem’s Warrior Baby, by Ray Hawkins

Reviewed by Dale Harcombe

This book of 31 devotions is a little gem. It would be ideal advent project in the lead up to Christmas. Each devotion has a short bible passage or two, a meditation on the text, a prayer and a gift (read – suggestion of how it could be applied.)

There are some great ideas and images in this short book. In the  one titled someone is coming I liked the comparison  of  the coming of the Promised One coming at Christmas to a jigsaw needing all the interlocking pieces and also the idea of Christmas being God’s ‘invasion strategy’ to take back what was lost by fall in Genesis 3.

Just as interesting was the concept that ‘God can be unsettling.’ In other words God doesn’t always behave as we night ask or expect. He has His own plans and they are far better and more long- reaching than ours. It was good to have a fresh take on Abraham’s call and ‘tenacious faith’ despite his ‘high profile mistakes’.

I liked the way Ray Hawkins separated the sentimental traditions regarding Christmas, which sees nativity sets with the magi at the manger, from the few biblical facts about these mystery men.

It would be a great book to read as a family in the lead up to Christmas and could bring up lots of interesting questions or just as an individual devotional. Well worth reading at any time.

 

Bethlehem’s Warrior Baby

Ray Hawkins

Even before Publishing

The Gift, by Penny Matthews & Martin McKenna

One by one the toys were sold.
Nobody wanted Brown Bear.

The Gift

It is nearly Christmas and a plain brown bear sits in the toy shop waiting to be bought. The other toys do clever things – singing carols or banging drums – but all Bear has is a big red bow. As the other toys are sold he finds himself sitting next to a big green crocodile, who doesn’t do anything special OR have a bow. As Crocodile frets about finding a home, Brown Bear does something very special – giving his bow to Crocodile. But, when Crocodile is sold, Bear wonders if he’ll ever be chosen.

The Gift is a gorgeous Christmas picture book story about giving and friendship. Brown Bear’s generous gesture helps his frined find a home and, eventually, he too finds a home, and even a new bow.

The text is lovely and the illustrations also simply beautiful. Rendered digitally, yet with a traditional toy shop feel, the toys have loads of character but are toy-like. not overly animated even when communicating. the people are represented chiefly by hands reaching and passing until the final lovely illustration of Brown Bear’s new young owner asleep, cuddling him.

The Gift would make a lovely Christmas present.

The Gift, by Penny Matthews & Martin McKenna
Omnibus Books, 2012
ISBN

Available from good bookstores or online.