Rating: 5 stars!
I love this book! I love this book! I love this book!
Just had to get that out.
While we're huge fans of all Anna Dewdney's books, I often shy away from them when I give them as gifts because they are situation-specific. I mean, do I really want to give Llama Llama Red Pajama to a little 2 year old who might not have issues with the dark? If my gift develops into a fear, I'm definitely off the guest list for next year's party. And Llama Llama Misses Mama is a wonderful book about separation anxiety when school starts, but...it's November and the kids we know are mostly from school. So...
...enter this book! It's for anyone who celebrates the holidays, especially those who want to focus on the less-fluffy and commercial, more substantial and meaningful reason for Christmas. It doesn't touch on the Holy Family--so if you're looking for The Christmas Story, this is definitely not it.
Our little llama hero is having difficulty waiting for Christmas (as a person with little patience, I really empathize) and constantly counts down the days. He sees fluffy snow, funny elves, and tons of cheap-o gifts during a trip to the mall with his mother. He bakes and bakes zillions of cookies, does almost as many Christmas-related crafts at school, decorates his house with equal amounts of holiday stuff. As any little kid--I mean llama--would, he gets overwhelmed and has "HOLIDRAMA!" Hey, I know that concept! I've been there!
In the end, it's a great, gentle reminder, told (as always) in a wonderful way with catchy, rhyming text and super cute illustrations that:
"Sometimes we should take a rest / and hold the ones we love the best. Wishing, waiting, wanting things... / we forget what this time brings. / Gifts are nice, but there's another-- / the true gift is we have each other."This is one that you should just order 4 or 5 of, just to keep on hand for your holiday giving list.
Oh I really, really, really love it, too. So good for all who read it. Often during this holiday season I would think of baby llama when Evangeline or Wyatt needed me and I felt like THEY were the intrusion into the rush as opposed to the other way around.
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