Saturday, December 05, 2015

Christmas at Last

Board book: Christmas At Last! Sam Hearn. Illustrated by Penny Dann. 2015. Scholastic. 16 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: It's Christmas at last, and outside it's snowing. The stockings are hanging. And the fire is glowing.

Premise/plot: Christmas at Last is told on stocking-shaped pages. Each page reveals what a particular bear received in his or her stocking. The bears in the family: Daddy Bear, Momma Bear, Bonnie Bear, Bobby Bear, and Baby Bear. At first the presents seem to make sense: a hat for Daddy Bear, a scarf for Momma Bear, a pair of mittens for Bobby Bear. But by the end of the book that has changed. The presents all turn out to be clues for a fun family activity. Will little readers--or adult readers--guess what's going on before the big reveal?

My thoughts: I liked it more than I thought it would. Why? Because it has more story to it than I initially thought. I liked the bears. I liked the cozy Christmas scenes. And I like that readers need to solve a mystery. That added a tiny bit of depth to the book, which is what Christmas stories even for the very young need, in my opinion. 

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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