Holiday Time for the Smaller

I love holiday books. I love the illustrated Christmas songs and carols. I love the images of fireplaces, lit up faces, and the moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow. I love the focus on peace, and love, and helping. I love the funny ones with their own style of delivering the ideas of caring. I have long lists of favourites, in fact, both of wonderful classics and a few of my own personal winners. This year, a few of the new holiday titles are definitely worth a share, as well.

Santa’s On His Way
Ruth Martin
Templar Books
ISBN: 978 0 7636 5555 6

This moving-picture book follows Santa as he counts down to Christmas, starting on the 19th – tomorrow! – and gets ready for his big night. He takes care of the reindeer, makes sure the gifts are set to be wrapped and ready on time, readies his sleigh, scrubs his boots, and rests up a bit himself.

It’s a simple story, and the illustrations themselves are even maybe a little on the soft side for my usual taste, but this book has a lovely twist that adds a special extra dimension to every other pages, as sliding panels change the illustration – something you can bet your kid will want to do over and over. It is, as I say, a pretty plain little story, but I’m planning to read about Santa’s preparations over the next few days, one page at a time as they are dated in the book, and add it to our advent rituals. Getting to transform those pictures may be just as good as chocolate!

Fletcher and the Snowflake Christmas
Julia Rawlinson
Greenwillow Books
ISBN: 978 0 06 199033 5

Fletcher may just be the very best friend and neighbour ever – he is so worried that Santa won’t be able to find the rabbits’ new home, he spends all day on Christmas Eve making a trail of arrows pointing the way, and getting the birds and squirrels to help. When snow covers the trail that night, he is determined to stay up and tell Santa about it, instead – but of course, the wee fox falls asleep. No matter, Santa is, as you would expect, on the case.

As with all the Fletcher books, the story is kept sweet and simple, for younger kids. That Fletcher’s own Christmas was wonderful, we are left to assume – this story is about friendship and caring more than it is about gifts, though he and his friends each bring something small from the forest when they come to visit the next day. My favourite thing about this series is always the illustrations, though, and this title is no exception.  The images are simple in their representation, but the layering of colours and textures is just beautiful, and definitely worth another look.

Follow the Star
Andy Mansfield
Chronicle Books
ISBN: 978 0 4521 0358 7

This gorgeous pop-up book is this year’s standout, for me. Beautifully designed with a simple, clean look, each page features a white pop-up that illustrates a lovely poem about the Christmas star and its message of hope, thanks, and love. 

I am a massive fan of Sabuda’s stunning white-on-white paper engineering, which stars in some of the most beautiful Christmas books I have, so for me to say that this reminds me of the feel of his work is very high praise indeed.

I am loving this one so much I am going to run out and buy one for my very best friend, who I know will appreciate how very wonderful it is.