Christmas Books - Twenty-four favourites

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey

The Polar Express

The Silver Christmas Tree

Truffle's Christmas

Harvey Slumfenburger's Christmas Present

Wombat Divine

Max's Christmas

A Christmas Tree for Pyn

Ruby the Christmas Donkey

The Christmas Caravan

The Jolly Christmas Postman

A Letter to Father Christmas

Tree of Cranes

Applesauce and the Christmas Miracle

The Angel with a mouth-organ

The Empty Stocking

Toot and Puddle - I'll be home for Christmas

Melrose and Croc

The Last Straw

Jesus Christmas Party

A Small Miracle

Shine

The Story of Holly and Ivy

Christmas in the Trenches

During Christmas, when the air is filled with anticipation, these picture books become little times of pure joy. They capture the essence of the season—the twinkling lights, the nativities, the snowy landscapes—all in a way that resonates with our children.

Bears don't cry by Emma Chichester Clark

The title of this book is sure to lead to an interesting discussion with your group of young readers. Should bears be allowed to cry? What might make a bear cry? What makes you cry? Is it okay to cry sometimes? Who might help you if you are crying? What do you thing the little girl might be saying to the bear? Flip over to the back cover. What is happening here?

This story is a sequel to an earlier book - Bears don't read.

Publisher blurb for Bears don't cry: George is no ordinary bear. He lives with a little girl called Clementine and her mother, who have taught him to read! One day, when George finishes his book early and knows it will be a long time before Clementine and her mother return home, he decides to go the library by himself. At first it’s exciting to stroll along the sunny street. But poor George’s trip soon ends in disaster and, to make things worse, his library book is ruined. Can anyone help George to feel better when his feelings are hurt?

In the first book George found a book then he found Clementine and her mother and he learned how to read. In this second instalment George loves living with Clementine's family and when they go out each day he is able to sit in the garden and read but on the day of this story he finishes his library book and so he decides to head into town to the library. Unfortunately none of the townspeople are used to seeing huge bears in the street and so everyone runs away in fear. George has no idea what is happening but then he slips on some fruit in the market and lands in the village fountain. The people all laugh at him but Clementine has something important to say about this:

"This is my dear friend, George ... He may be big but you have hurt his feelings."

As with all good books the final picnic scene back at Clementine's house with the librarian is sure to make you smile. 

Warning - if your library book falls into a fountain, as happened to George,  it really cannot be saved - I love that the librarian in this book offered to dry out the book but I think she was just being kind. 

Clever type design makes for easy reading, while lots of pictorial action adds drama to this tale that gently reminds readers not to judge by outward appearances. ... A sweet tale of a beloved bear defeating the tyranny of others’ expectations. Kirkus

Click on the name Emma Chichester Clark in my post labels to see more books by this wonderful UK author/illustrator. This story reminded me of this book:

Veronica

Baby on Board by Allan Ahlberg illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark

 

All of the children head to the beach with the baby in a pram and sandwiches, lemonade, a kite, friends and a dog or two. It is a joyous sunny day. The children play with each other and with the baby and everyone enjoys their lunch but when the kite string breaks, all of the children run to catch it, and the baby is left behind in his pram with only his toys for company. The pram has been left close to the shore. The tide rolls in. 

" ... then quite soon, the waves and wind got larger and louder and turned into a storm. The baby frowned and clutched his special bit of flannel and sucked his thumb."

The pram is swept out to sea but luckily his toy friends are there to help with a banana, some juice in his special cup and a game of peepo! Then a puffin spots the pram and this delights the baby but panda is swept overboard all the toys have to perform an heroic rescue. The drama continues when a huge fish grabs hold of a rope tied to the pram but fortunately the rope breaks. Meanwhile I kept wondering about the children and parents back at home who surely are searching frantically for their lost brother.

With all the toys back on the pram, and danger a thing of the past, the pram drifts on.

"Night, and a scatter of silver stars and a sliver of moon and a dazzling, swinging beam of light from the lighthouse. Up onto the silent beach came the pram. Only then half out of the water it ground to a halt and would not budge."

Now the toys spring into action rushing home to gather all their toy friends to help pull the pram to safety on the beach and eventually all the humans arrive to claim their son and brother.

I love the final scene in this book (a little like something out of the Toy Story movie) where you can see panda, rabbit and doll sharing the story of their ocean adventure with all the other toys in the playroom.

Stunning artwork by Emma Chichester Clark – love the 1930s pram and children’s attire –  transforms Allan Ahlberg’s super story into a super, super story. It’s perfect as a bedtime book, or equally as a shared read at any time of the day. Red Reading Hub

I talked about Allan Ahlberg yesterday because he has just had a birthday. I love the way so many of his books are illustrated by famous people such as this one by Emma Chichester Clark.  I am a huge fan of her work especially the Blue Kangaroo series and The Minstrel and the Dragon Pup. Baby on Board is a newish book published in 2019 and it is a gem.

It would be fun to read this alongside a much older book by Allan Ahlberg illustrated by his late wife Janet - Bye Bye baby.

You will also want to pick up the famous book by Allan Ahlberg - Peepo.

This book also reminded me of these:

Ruby and Little Joe

Merry Christmas, Blue Kangaroo! by Emma Chichester Clark

 

Listen to an audio sample of Joanna Lumley reading this book. It is extra funny because Joanna tries to make little Blue Kangaroo sound 'slightly' Australian!

I think this might be the US edition with a more literal title.

Blue Kangaroo sees everyone preparing for Christmas. Everyone keeps saying this is for you - Blue Kangaroo because it is his first Christmas but our little friend is so worried. Lily has shown him his special gift (and cards, and decorations, and even a gingerbread kangaroo) but what can he give Lily? On Christmas Eve, while everyone is asleep, Santa arrives so Blue Kangaroo heads down the stairs to have a little chat. On Christmas morning Lily finds the best surprise ever!

Here is a video of Rosamund Pike reading Merry Christmas, Blue Kangaroo! This book was published in 2006 but it is still available which is good news. I picked up my copy at a recent charity book sale for the bargain price of 50 cents and it is in mint condition. I will be gifting it to a young child this Christmas. 

I am a huge fan of the Blue Kangaroo series they are all perfect to read aloud to preschool and Kindergarten groups and in fact I asked a friend of mine to make me a toy Blue Kangaroo many years ago and when I left my former school I gifted him to a school library. They also own the real toy.

Here is the plush toy that was once available to buy with this series:

Here are some of the other books from this series:

Emma Chichester Clark also has another completely wonderful Christmas book that I highly recommend you try to find and share this year (especially on Christmas eve) - Melrose and Croc.

What will you be Grandma? by Nanette Newman illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark

"One day Lily asked her grandma, 'What do you think you'll be when you grow up?' 'Well,' said her grandma, 'a lot of people think I've grown up already.' 'Oh no,' said Lily, 'you've got a long way to go yet."

Grandma could grow wings and fly around the world looking for people who are kind; or she could become an artist and paint rainbows; or a gardener who makes delicious food. But really Grandma just wants to be a grandma and to simply love little Lily.

I have a few questions about this book. Nanette Newman is an actress and she has written over 30 books. Her granddaughter is called Lily. Emma Chichester Clark has a series of wonderful book about Blue Kangaroo and the child in these books is also called Lily. So did Nanette Newman meet Emma Chichester Clark? Did the publisher see this link and ask Emma to illustrate this book? This book was published in 2011 but I have been able to find new copies (in hardcover). 

This grandma is not a stout grey-haired lady but a spunky, lithe, bespectacled brunette who happily takes part in every flight of fancy—sometimes decked out in feathers or looking quite fetching in everything from butterfly wings to a wizard hat—until it is time for bed. Young readers will take the cue from this slightly silly tale and enjoy coming up with their own ideas for what their grandparents or other family members might grow up to become. Kirkus

Unusually for a picture book, the narrative is nearly solely based on dialogue between grandmother and granddaughter; two fonts are used for young audiences to distinguish the two characters. Library Mice

I recently talked about A Small Person's Guide to Grandmas. what will you be, Grandma is the perfect companion book. 

Melrose and Croc: A Hero's Birthday by Emma Chichester Clark

 

Have you met Melrose (the yellow dog) and his friend Croc (a small green crocodile)?  A Hero's Birthday is the sixth story in this charming series. The first book is set at Christmas. Take a look at Emma Chichester Clark's web pages.

Melrose has plans for a wonderful birthday to his friend Croc. He has prepared all the presents but he wants to include one more perfect surprise - a fresh fish for breakfast. Melrose sets off in a small row boat. He has not noticed "how black the sea was, or how dark the sky had become."

Back at home Croc waits for Melrose. When his good friend does not arrive, Croc sets off to look for him. By now the storm is raging.  Down at the harbour Croc meets Pierre, the boat owner. Out in the stormy sea he sees a tiny boat with a yellow dog inside it. The lifeboat sets off to rescue Melrose but just as they arrive a huge wave sweeps Melrose into the sea. Croc does not hesitate - he dives into the wild waves to save his friend. Croc is a hero!

"A real hero ... And a true friend."

Melrose and Croc Friends for Life

Melrose and Croc Christmas

Melrose and Croc Heros

Melrose and Croc Find a Smile

Melrose and Croc Go to Town

Melrose and Croc Beside the Sea

Station Jim by Louis de Bernieres illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark

Railway worker Mr Leghorn (Ginger) finds a puppy left on a train. No one claims the little fellow and so he becomes a loved member of the family - Dad (Ginger) and Mum - Molly Leghorn, and the children Alfie, Arthur, Beryl, Sissy and Albert. Jim has some great adventures he even stows away on a ship. Eventually Mr Leghorn puts little Jim to work with a charity box around his neck collecting funds for The Railway Widows and Orphans Fund.

A major chain bookstore in my city offered a good discount on purchases last week so naturally I made a visit expecting to buy a few books! I spied this one on their shelf of new releases. Louis de Bernieres is an adult author best known for Captain Corelli's Mandolin. You may already know I adore the art of  Emma Chichester Clark so I expected this book would be very special. Then when I opened it up and scanned a few pages I found some delicious words:

• obstreperous
• pestiferous
• rhetorically
• gallivanting
• eccentricity
• inexplicably
• ostensibly
• lugubrious

This story is very, very English but I think that is a good thing. If you are reading this book in Australia, for example, there will be so much to talk about and explore. Steam trains with individual compartments, Christmas puddings with threepence coins, using a mangle to wring washing, piercing chestnuts before putting them on the fire, ink pens and inkwells and an object called a donkey stone. The chapter entitled Raggabone is fascinating. It describes all the tradesmen who worked on the streets. The Muffin Man, Diddicoys (gypsies) who could mend machinery, the Pieman, Any Old Iron Man, and the Rag-and-Bone man.

When you pick up this book try to read the chapter Station Jim's Christmas a few days before Christmas day. I loved this chapter. Making the pudding was especially delicious:

"Molly (Mrs Leghorn) had already made a pound of breadcrumbs, and shelled and chopped the Brazil nuts, and blanched and skinned and chopped the almonds, and grated the cooking apples, and grated a lemon rind and squeezed out the juice, and stoned and chopped the dates, and bought some eggs and demerara sugar and a little bottle of rum, and weighed our some sultanas and currants and a little posset of mixed spices ... "

Perhaps I need to tell you here is some smoking and drinking in this story. Don't let this put you off reading this charming story. The smoking references are always qualified with the warning:

"Like everyone else in those days they had the bad luck of not knowing smoking is a deadly habit."

I recommend this book as a family read aloud or perhaps a book you could read to a class (age 8+) over a couple of weeks - there are fifteen chapters.  Preview the first chapter here. You might enjoy the audio book too.  You could perhaps follow this book with The Railway children by E Nesbit.

If you read this with a class it would be fun to look closely at the notice Mr Leghorn displays at the post office:

"Enywon want a pupy? Noy suer how old. Very sweet and wel behayvd. Prity much houstraned already. Afrade of cats. Blak and tan. Aply Number 4 Railway cottiges."

The Misadventures of Frederick by Ben Manley illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark

Frederick seems be a 'walking disaster'.  Look closely at the front cover. I've given you a large image here to help you. His toy train is derailed, the truck has lost a wheel, he has spilled the ink bottle on his desk and poor old Teddy is flat on his back.

Meanwhile Emily is having terrific fun outside.  Here is the back cover of this book:

Before the story begins we see Frederick. He is sitting in his dark room with his crumpled bicycle. A paper aeroplane flies in through the open window.

Hello
I can see you from the forest.
You look bored.
Would you like to go for an ice cream?
My favourite flavour is chocolate.
Love
Emily  

Frederick asks his mother if he can venture outside but she reminds him of past misadventures. Frederick writes back to Emily:

My Dearest Emily,
The woodlark's melody floats across the shimmering sky.
It is with bitter regret that I inform you I may not come out to eat ice creams today, on account that I might be sick into my music box.
Sorrowfully yours,
Frederick

I love this letter and the subsequent ones. The style of writing by the two children are so different.  On the first page, the one with the broken bike, Frederick is surrounded by books. I like to think that all his reading has given him this rich vocabulary and cultured turn of phrase.  Words like "bitter regret" must have come from a book surely.

Emily is not deterred. She writes again, sending another paper aeroplane, suggesting Frederick might like to climb a tree or two. Frederick Leopold Nadelbaum declines this offer again with bitter regret. "I might break both my collar bones."

And so the letters go back and forth. Emily suggests a bike ride but Frederick thinks he might graze all the skin off his bottom. Emily suggests swimming but Frederick is concerned about pneumonia. After several more letters, which are met with refusal, Emily yells through the window -

Come anyway 

Emily and Frederick have a terrific time running through the leaf filled forest. Then we turn the page and see one more letter. This final letter is from Frederick and it is sent from hospital. What has happened? Will Frederick ever be brave enough to venue out again?

Take a look at the first lines from each letter:

The woodlark's melody floats across the shimmering sky.
The finches flutter in the sycamores, startling the drowsy dormouse.
The wild rose rambles by the shady trail.
The lonely salmon makes his ragged run upstream.
The melancholy wind sighs through the golden ash.
The snow thaws on the bright mountain bringing forth the bluebell.

When Louise Pfanner showed me this book in her store Gleebooks a couple of weeks ago I knew I would love it. I have long been a huge fan of everything illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark.

A warm-hearted picture book about a special friendship in which free spirited Emily tempts anxious and pampered Frederick to brave the outdoors and enjoy some wonderful and unexpected adventures. Love Reading4Kids Julia Eccleshare

Ben's brilliantly atmospheric story works beautifully with Emma's gorgeously rich and detailed visuals to bring the story perfectly to life.  ReaditDaddy