Day: December 17, 2010

Llama Llama Holiday Drama

| Tasha

214440557

Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney

This latest in the Llama Llama series keeps the rhyming and charm of the earlier books and adds a Christmas theme.  Llama Llama loves Christmas, so he finds it hard to wait until the special day arrives.  There is a lot to do to prepare for the holiday with shopping, baking cookies, decorating the Christmas tree.   It all gets to be a bit too much for this little llama to bear.  So Mama Llama takes some time away from the holiday rush to spend a bit cuddling with Llama Llama, making it a special night in a different way.  A celebration of the holidays with just the right balance of what is actually important about them.

Dewdney has a great ear for rhymes.  They dance across the page and add to the celebratory feel of the book.  She also has a nice touch with her illustrations, creating moods with bright colors.  Her images are simple enough to project to a group easily but also detailed enough to make lap reading special.

Get this one for any toddlers on your Christmas list.  It has the potential to become an annual read.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Viking.

The Nutcracker

| Tasha

the nutcracker

The Nutcracker by Alison Jay

A lovely holiday confection, this book is based on The Nutcracker ballet.  The story is told in a very readable and accessible way that will invite children who don’t know the ballet story to hear it for the first time.  It also welcomes those who know the ballet to return to the story in a new format.  The book follows Clara as she moves through her Christmas Eve and receives a nutcracker toy for a present.  Her brother works the mechanism too hard and the nutcracker’s jaw is broken.  In the evening Clara returns to her toy, curling up with it under the Christmas tree.  She awakens to find the tree and her nutcracker growing bigger and bigger.  Her adventure continues as the nutcracker fights the mouse king and then becomes a prince.  The prince takes Clara to his castle in the land of sweets where she meets the Sugar Plum Fairy. 

Jay remains true to the story of the ballet, her skillful writing making the story  a pleasure to share aloud.  It is her illustrations that really make this a special book.  As with her other picture books, the illustrations are done with a crackled finish that creates a sense of timelessness that is perfect for this story.  She uses deep colors that evoke the holidays, the warmth of the fireside, and the delight of candy. 

If you have a young ballerina in your life, this would make a wonderful holiday gift.  It is a great choice for libraries looking for a holiday picture book that is an instant classic.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy received from Dial.