5 comments about McDuff's Christmas (McDuff Stories).

1. What a disappointment! Nowhere did I see that this was a reprint of "McDuff's New Friend" when I ordered it...and to make matters worse it was done in the same cheap looking format as the most recent new release, "McDuff's Wild Romp". Gone are the wonderful glossy pages with the beautifully detailed artwork; gone are the dustjackets. How sad. Take a pass on this one and buy new copies of the original "McDuff" stories instead.



2. My sister and her family had a lovable Westie that graced our lives for over 16 years. The pictures in this McDuff book reminded me of the many Christmases that "Bubba" was part of our lives.



3. This is the only McDuff book we own, so it wasn't a duplicate for us. My son, who loves books (we must have over a hundred, easily), but who usually prefers books about vehicles, really enjoyed this one. He loves to say "McDuff says WOOF!" and probably prefers this and Hondo and Fabian as his two most-loved dog stories.



4. I bought this book not knowing that it was the same as one I already had, with only the title changed. Big disappointment, but the book itself, in its previous incarnation, was lovely.



5. My three grandchildren ranging from 6 to 10 really enjoyed me reading the book to them. Great book.

No comments about Happy's Holiday (Big Apple Barn).

2 comments about Babar and Father Christmas (Babar Books (Random House)).

1. Babar and Father Christmas is such a wondeerful Christmas Story. Santa Claus Gave us a copy for christmas a long time ago. In this book, Babar's Children heard about father christmas from somebody. They write him a letter and ask him to come to Celestesville. Father Christmas forgot to write back, so King Babar goes to man's country and looks for him, finally finds him at the north pole. We want to buy a copy as a gift. Please ask the publisher to reprint it.



2. This book was originally published in 1940 and the end notes tell us that it was the last one written by Jean de Brunhoff before his untimely death at age 37. The story and line drawings were finished but the illustrations still needed to be colored. Jean's brother took care of that with the help of Jean's son who was only 12 years old when his father died. I like the fact that Jean's son had a hand in the coloring of this wonderful story of a father's love and special efforts on behalf of his children at Christmastime.
   This book has all the lively and humorous characteristics of the other Babar the Elephant stories, the brightly colored, warm and friendly drawings of our beloved elephant royalty, the antics and adventures of the elephants themselves and of course, our hero, King Babar once again, saving the day, in this book, a most important day, Christmas!
   Arthur, Pom, Flora and Alexander, the royal elephant children , together with their monkey pal, Zephir, write Father Christmas a wish list letter and are disappointed when they don't get a reply. This ultimately leads to Babar's realization that the Elephants' Country needs to be included in Santa's regular route, so he goes to heroic lengths to make his childrens' wishes come true. Babar and Father Christmas become fast friends and Father Christmas even gets to take a much needed rest in the tropical climate of Babar's country. The way de Brunhoff has drawn Father Christmas is quirky and jolly and rather different from the image we have of him today but entirely captures the essence of this wonderful holiday icon. If you have loved other Babar stories or if this is your first, you are sure to love it and make it a part of your Christmas tradition.

5 comments about The Nutcracker.

1. Susan Jeffers has written and illustrated a lovely book about the Nutcracker ballet, making the story very accessible to younger children. I read this book to my two kids, aged 7 and 5, and it was a very good description of the story that prepared them for seeing a local performance. However, I do not give it 5 stars because Jeffers chose to spend 6 pages, a significant part of this book, depicting the battle between the Nutcracker and the Rat King. This emphasis scared my 5 year old daughter, and she constantly would ask, when we were listening to a CD of Nutcracker music, "When is the Rat King battle?" In contrast, I counted 6 or 7 dances in the Land of Sweets that were depicted on just a two page spread. While it was a nice retelling of the story, just too much valuable space in this book was spent on a part of the ballet that lasts less than 5 minutes. I would have preferred to have seen more of Jeffers' beautiful drawings of the Land of Sweets.



2. This is a wonderful children's recounting of the Nutcracker Ballet. The pictures are wonderfully engaging for children, and the text is succinct enough to be read as a picture book. It is much better than the wordy versions I have seen previously, or those versions that use photographs of the real ballet. The drawings seem to be much more accessible for children than photos. I found Jeffer's version to be fairly representative of the ballet itself. I disagree with those who say that the battle with the mice was too scary - if your kids think the book is scary, they will DEFINITELY think the ballet is scary. And it's not fair to penalize the author for including the 7 headed mouse king - since this is an accurate reflection of most versions of the play. I can appreciate why one reviewer wished there were more scenes of the Land of Treats - however frankly, my kids always felt that was "the boring half" of the Nutrcracker, and I can understand why Jeffers abridged that portion of the story. Personally, my daughter loves this book and it is short enough that it can be comfortably read start to finish at bed time. My only caution is that Jeffers calls the main female character Marie. My kids were more accustomed to the name Clara for the lead girl, so I had to constantly substitute Clara for Marie throughout the whole text.



3. My daughter is 2 years old and she loves this book. What a fabulous introduction to the Nutcracker. We also recorded the ballet on TV during Christmas, and she was able to follow the story exactly with the help of this book. The story is simply written and the illustrations are wonderful. I recommended it to all of my friends!



4. Susan Jeffers does not disappoint!!! From the opening pages to the details she includes about her reasons for writing this, "finally..." appropriately written and illustrated story of the Nutcracker for children of all ages, Jeffers sweeps you into the story with her realistic illustrations and easy, yet inclusive text.
   I've taken 1st graders to see parts of The Nutcracker. Having always prepared them beforehand using books that didn't address the ballet while so many were too thick in text they couldn't possibly be useful for us. This inspirational delivery from Jeffers is a PERFECT fit. I am thrilled to add it to our library, and more thrilled that I can enjoy myself.



5. I thought the illustrations were beautifully done. However, I did not like the variation from the original story, ie, Clara's name was changed to Marie and the mouse king had three heads instead of one. I bought this book for my four year old granddaughter, who very much loved the movie version, but did not like the changes from the original ballet.

5 comments about The Christmas Cat.

1. This is one of those books that, after picking it up at a friend's house, I had to have. I'm a longtime fan of Tasha Tudor's heartwarming illustrations, and here she does what she does best: animals, children and Christmas. Her daughter Efner, born to the tradition, gives us a charming tale of a little gray cat, lost and abandoned in a blizzard, and the Christmas magic that brings him into the lives of two children. A terrific book for children of any age, or adult cat-lovers like me!



2. My daughter recently read this book and liked it, like me she is a cat lover. I found the story charming, and of course it has a happy ending, being wrote for 4-8 year olds, however, I thought it should have been a couple of pages longer, at least. But overall, this book is worth the money. If you want another book of cats and Christmas, check out CHRISTMAS CATS, by Lesley Anne Ivory, this is a book of her paintings combined with little stories about cats and Christmas, for older children and adults.



3. I did not read this book; but did read the reviews when purchasing it which helped in my decision to purchase it as a Christmas gift. My granddaughter was delighted with it.



4. Nice childrens book for Xmas and the cat lover.
   
   Author of "Hobo Finds A Home"



5. while the story is sweet with adequate but not spectacular illustrations,and includes a gingerbread recipe there is a relegious slant to the story. If that is what you are looking for, this is a very pleasant book in which a cat finds a home but if you want a secular holiday tale, "the Christmas Cat" has a nativity scene at the end.

1 comments about Gingerbread Land.

1. I loved this book!!I own many, many gingerbread books but this is sooo much more. If shared with a slightly older child(ren) you could take advantage of the many recipes and crafts and make it a true Christmas expereince. HOW FUN!!!! A younger child would enjoy the pictures but it is not intended for a toddler or young preschooler as the text is creatively elaborate. I think it could be a really fun book to share as a grandma and then use the activities as reading-re-enforcers. I felt it was worth every penny and LOVE IT as an adult. It will be put out every year for young and old to enjoy with my gingerbrerad-themed Christmas!!!

5 comments about Bob: And 6 More Christmas Stories.

1. I love most of Sandra Boynton's stuff and this book was a bit of a disappointment. Her poems didn't seem to flow real well throughout the whole book. This is probably one of our least favorite books from her.



2. This book was lots of fun this Christmas and quickly became my two and half year old's favorite nighttime story. She loved finding Bob on all the pages and singing along with a couple of the stories. Very cute and clever!



3. It's cute. I agree it is not a "must have." Each page is it's own little poem so I believe it's a stretch to even call them each a story. But they are cute poems.



4. This book has 7 really cute Christmas poems with adorable, animated pictures to go along with them. It's great for toddlers and preschoolers. We love it!



5. MY fifteen month old granddaughter loved this book. I do too. She especially enjoys searching for Bob on each page. I know it by heart. Highly recommend. Wish there were more books like this.

2 comments about The Night Before Christmas.

1. The best illustrated version of The Night Before Christmas, hands down! I had this book when I was a child and have very fond memories of my father reading it to me at Christmastime. I adored the beautiful illustrations. Gyo Fujikawa is a wonderful children's book illustrater. The drawings are classic and precious, beautifully detailed without being too busy. Now I plan to read this to my own daughter!



2. My absolute favorite version of The Night Before Christmas. I adored it as a child, and am so happy it is still available so that I can read it to my children. A true delight.

1 comments about Horrible Harry and the Christmas Surprise (Horrible Harry).

1. This book is cool. Horrible Harry is horrible because he does horrible things like putting frogs in girls' hair. Horrible likes horrible creatures, too. He gives his teacher a rocking chair with spiders on it. You should buy this book because it is a very interesting book.

1 comments about Christmas Moccasins.

1. Quite simply beautiful. A story for all ages that gives hope to human kind.