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Kids would love to find these books under the Christmas tree




Newburytoday children’s book reviewer CAROLINE FRANKLIN is feeling really Christmassy with her final monthly selection of 2021: Many families have their own Christmas traditions – when I was a child we always wore something new on Christmas Day. A look at traditions in other countries is fascinating, such as the Norwegians hiding all the brooms in the house on Christmas Eve, a centuries-old custom dating back to the time when it was believed witches and evil spirits would be out looking for brooms to ride on.

In Ukraine the custom of putting fake spider webs on their Christmas trees arose from the story of a poor widow and her children who grew a tree from a pinecone, but then had no money to decorate it. When they awoke on Christmas morning the tree was covered in cobwebs which shone in the sunshine. Now the little fake spider web ornaments are said to be the origin of our sparkly tinsel. Heaven help those on a diet in Poland where 12 different dishes are served at the Christmas meal, 12 because of months of the year and the 12 apostles. Everyone must try every dish if the New Year is to be happy. Phew!!

Other Christmassy facts – did you know that the first artificial Christmas tree was produced using machinery originally designed for producing toilet brushes? And that 1,077 people took part in the longest cracker pulling chain at a school in South London? Enough of this fascinating stuff – let’s get on with helping you find presents children will enjoy finding under the tree on Christmas Day.

The Christmas Doll
The Christmas Doll

The Christmas Doll (Walker Books £12.99 HB) is based on the true story of Patricia, a small girl who in 1939 was evacuated and had to leave her parents to live with strangers. In this Repair Shop story author Amy Sparkes takes the little girl to a kind home where she gradually settles down, and is overjoyed when she is given a small doll, Lizzy, on Christmas Day. She thinks she must give her back after Christmas, but when she finds she can keep Lizzy, she does so, for many years.

The little girl is now a granny and Lizzy has become damaged over the years. Where should she go to be mended?

Why, The Repair Shop, of course. Jay Blades and his merry men and women work their magic and Lizzy is made as new as ever as she is passed to the youngest member of the family. A story for young doll owners who will understand how important it was for Lizzie to be mended.

The Winter Wish
The Winter Wish

William is 37 books tall and lives above a bookshop with his mum and dad in The Winter Wish (Harper Collins £12.99 HB). He loves the books and is horrified when he hears that because business is slow, the shop may have to close.

Determined to do something about it, he decorates the shop window with a wonderful reindeer to attract customers – but it may not be enough...

It is only when magic intervenes and the reindeer comes to life that everything comes right and the bookshop is saved. Christmassy and colourful, young readers up to 37 books tall will love it.

Five Bears
Five Bears

They will also love Five Bears (Macmillan £12.99 HB) by Catherine Rayner, a story of few words and a lot of friendship.

The five bears of the title are all different and are ‘proper’ bears – as opposed to the teddy sort. Each starts out by being lonely, but one by one and by just hanging about together they all find good friends in the end.

A story with a good message about finding friends and one of my favourite books this Christmas.

Wind in the Willows
Wind in the Willows

An old favourite, now abridged by Lou Peacock and beautifully illustrated by Kate Hindley, is The Wind in the Willows (Nosy Crow £16.99 HB).

Lou Peacock’s version for younger children still keeps the magical quality of Kenneth Grahame’s original story and the illustrations of Toad, Mole, Rat and their friends as they go on their adventures are funny, detailed, colourful and charming.

This would be a wonderful addition to a young child’s bookshelf.

Lambing Time and Other Animal Tales
Lambing Time and Other Animal Tales

Boys and girls who love animals will enjoy Lambing Time and Other Animal Tales (Walker Books £10 HB) by Julian Norton, the Yorkshire vet.

Micro-pigs, parakeets, alpacas, kittens and a host more find their way into these stories celebrating the happiness, hard work and humour that are part of a country vet’s life.

It is not always an easy life – inserting a tube into Geronimo the alpaca’s mouth was, to say the least, tricky – but it all goes well and children of eight-plus who love animals would be delighted to be given this book for Christmas.

Einstein the Penguin
Einstein the Penguin

If your family haven’t come across Einstein the penguin by now, you’ve been missing out. Never mind, Einstein the wonderful penguin is now back. Fans will know that in the first book Einstein ended up in Australia and Imogen and Arthur have been missing him ever since he left with his chum Isaac.

Now there’s a chance he can get back to England and this time he is coming back as a film star! It all sounds wonderful, but there’s always a hitch when things look too good and sure enough the two penguins end up being held hostage. It’s up to Imogen and Arthur to save them. Are they successful? Of course they are.

Einstein the Penguin – The Case of the Fishy Detective (Harper Collins £12.99 HB) is another brilliantly funny story from Iona Rangeley.

Kaspar Prince of Cats
Kaspar Prince of Cats

It was first published in 2008, but if you know a 9/10 year-old who hasn’t read Kaspar, Prince of Cats (Harper Collins £7.99 PB) by Michael Morpurgo, then this little book would make a good not too expensive present for him or her.

The story begins in the Savoy Hotel where Johnny Trott is a bell-boy. When a famous opera singer and her beloved cat, Kaspar, come to stay, it’s the start of a sequence of events which changes Johnny’s life and see him ending up on the ill-fated Titanic.

An excellent story with just the right amount of tension at the end.

The Bedtime Book of Impossible Questions
The Bedtime Book of Impossible Questions

“Why,” asked six-year-old Sofie, my friend’s sharp-minded granddaughter, “don’t bees get sticky when they make honey?” This sort of question is typical, I’m told, of the several hard to answer queries she puts to her parents. However this time her grandad, Peter, sent off the bee query to his science magazine and bee expert Professor Dave Coulson of the University of Sussex had the answer. Not only answered the question, but put the piece in their magazine. Well done Sofie, her grandad and, of course, Professor Coulson.

There couldn’t be a better Christmas present for Sofie and any child who has an inquisitive mind than Isobel Thomas’ The Bedtime Book of Impossible Questions (Bloomsbury £12.99 HB). Why don’t caterpillars get stung by nettles and how many trees are there in the whole world are just two of the questions which get answered.

As for Sofi’s bees, apparently the little fellows rarely get honey on them, but when they do they meticulously groom themselves. Another reason to admire them.

A very, very happy Christmas and may you find a book to enjoy waiting for you under the Christmas tree – and have the time to read it!



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