Saturday, December 9, 2017

3 New Holiday Books from Sterling

The Bear Who Didn't Want to Miss Christmas
by Marie Tibi
Illustrated by Fabien Öckto Lambert

Published October, 2017
by Sterling Children's Books
Hardcover
40 pages

Goodreads Summary
Poor little bear! He’s supposed to hibernate—but if he does, he’ll sleep right through Christmas! What can he do?
Winter is coming, and it’s time for little bear to settle in for his long cold-weather nap. But that means he won’t get to celebrate Christmas with his woodland friends, and he’s very sad. Can his pals find a clever way to help him join in the fun? This heartwarming, holiday picture book captures the festive spirit of the holiday and the beauty of friendship.


My Thoughts
What a sweet story of friendship. Little Bear is so sad that he misses Christmas every year because he has to hibernate.  When his friends are decorating and writing letters to Santa he feels very left out. I won't spoil the ending, but let's just say that Little Bear has some very good friends. 
Young children LOVE Christmas and will absolutely relate to Little Bear's feelings of sadness at the prospect of missing the holiday every year. They will enjoy how this touching story ends. 
The book's illustrations are beautiful and the characters are adorable. Each page has the frosty feel of winter.  

  Image from book taken by G. McAllister

I would highly recommend The Bear Who Didn't Want to Miss Christmas for children ages 3-8.  

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by Annie Silvestro
Illustrated by Teagan White
Published October, 2017
by Sterling Children's Books
Hardcover
32 pages

Goodreads Summary
This mouse doesn’t want to stay in the house . . . even if it’s cold outside!
For most field mice, winter means burrowing down and snuggling in. But not for Lucy! She loves snow crunching under her paws and wearing a fluffy wool hat. And most of all, Lucy loves to skate, and she’s just ACHING to show off her new skill with her friends. After all, a winter wonderland is twice as nice when you have friends to enjoy it with. But the other mice just don’t understand—and after a disastrous indoor snowball fight, it looks as if they never will. Can Lucy find a way to make the other mice come out and “mice skate” too?
With intricately detailed illustrations as cozy as a fireplace in December (and a cup of cocoa, too), this funny punny warmhearted love song to winter—and to one brave, bold, and generous mouse—will have kids bundling up for some cold-weather fun of their own.


My Thoughts
While this title is not technically a holiday title, it is gorgeous and has a Christmasy feel to it. Lucy loves winter and wants to share it with her, but they all just want to stay inside where it is warm until spring. Can clever Lucy think of a way to help them all come outside and go "mice skating"? 
The illustrations are gorgeous! They are done in muted earth tones using water color, gouache and colored pencil on a mostly cream colored paper. 
       Image from book taken by G. McAllister

While the puns are a bit cheesy (sorry, couldn't resist), this book will appeal to young children. I would recommend it mostly for ages 3-8. 

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by Sue Fliess
Illustrated by Claudia Lambert
Published October, 2017
by Sterling Children's Books
Hardcover
32 pages

Goodreads Summary
We wish for a furry monster,
A big, hairy, scary monster,
Our own stomping, chomping monster, for Christmas this year!

Dear Santa: please bring us a MONSTER for Christmas! This hilarious parody of the traditional carol stars two siblings who want something just a little more special than the usual toys for their Christmas gift. Mom and Dad refuse—so they appeal to a higher power: Santa. And since they’ve been good all year, he delivers. But having a monster in the house may not be all it's cracked up to be . . . as the kids discover when he turns their playroom to rubble and causes tons of trouble. Now, what will they do? Delighted readers will sing along with the merry song.


My Thoughts
So fun! It took me a while to catch on that the book can be read (or sung) to the tune of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", but when I did, I couldn't read it any other way. Kids will love this silly Christmas story and just might change their minds about what they would like for Christmas. 
The digital illustrations are bright and colorful and the characters, even the monsters, are super-cute. 
  Image from book taken by G. McAllister


Check out this book trailer!

There is also a karaoke song for the book here
I would recommend it for ages 4-8. 

See what others have to say about this book.

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