It’s my stop on the blog tour for You Can’t Let an Elephant Pull Santa’s Sleigh by Patricia Cleveland-Peck and David Tazzyman and I’m delighted to be sharing a Christmassy author feature from Patricia as well as a fantastic activity pack.
Followers from my blog will know my daughters and I are massive fans of this series, but I have to admit this is my favourite of all. I love festive picture books and this series is the perfect combo.
Chaos at Christmas! Raccoons decorating your Christmas tree? Pulling crackers with alpacas? Kissing a buffalo under the mistletoe? Oh no . . . that just won’t do! Join a whole host of animals in silly situations as they try to celebrate the festive season.
You Can’t Let an Elephant Pull Santa’s Sleigh is a fantastically bonkers Christmas delight! And now, with no more ado, here is Patricia Cleveland-Peck’s Favourite Christmas-themed Books…
A recent Christmassy picture book which I loved was Katherine Rundell’s One Christmas Wish, illustrated by Emily Sutton. Theo is lonely. He is left at home with a sleepy babysitter. He looks out and sees a star and makes a wish – that he had some friends to play with. His parents are too busy even to decorate the tree and the Christmas decorations are old and tatty. Nevertheless, the moulting angel, the rusting tin soldier, the threadbare robin and the wormy rocking horse that Theo finds become his friends and they have adventures together during which Theo enables their wishes to come true, ultimately finding that his own one Christmas wish has come true, too.
Katherine Rundell is a brilliant writer and this warm-hearted book full of feeling is beautifully illustrated with glowing, bright images. It is also a longer picture book – something many of us appreciate. It is one to treasure.
The Snow Dragon by Abi Elphinstone, illustrated by Fiona Woodcock, is another lovely longer picture book. In it, Phoebe and her sausage dog Herb live in a ‘Home for Strays’ – i.e., an orphanage – run by the vile matron Griselda who, this year, has decided to cancel Christmas. Phoebe is the only child left in the orphanage as all the rest have had their Miracle Day and been adopted. Even so, although it is snowing Griselda punishes Phoebe by shutting her outside in a kennel. She manages to squeeze out and builds a snowman that magically turns into a snowy dragon which takes Phoebe and Herb flying through the skies on an adventure which finally culminates when, as arranged by Snowdon Dragonis, a couple turn up and adopt Phoebe and Herb.
A magical journey through the skies with a snowman who comes alive is also the focus in another Christmas favourite, The Snowman. Drawn (for it is a wordless book) by the incomparable Raymond Briggs, this was first published in 1978. In the end, the snowman sadly melts leaving the boy bereft. Briggs is not one to shy away from a tough but realistic ending. This one seems to emphasise how short and precious time, and maybe childhood, is.
Another iconic Raymond Briggs book which has stood the test of time is Father Christmas. The eponymous hero is based on Briggs’ own dad who was a milkman. Indeed, several of the characters in his books are loving portraits of his working-class parents. Similarly, his locations are based on where he lived. In both this book and The Snowman, I recognise many Sussex landmarks faithfully depicted. What is so refreshing and groundbreaking about this Father Christmas is that he is shown as a realistic, all too human, rather grumpy individual rather than a magical being surrounded by elves. The book is also a wee bit rude. We see Father Christmas on the loo, we hear him almost swearing… which of course are the sort of details kids love!
Returning to the more spiritual side of Christmas, one of my favourite descriptions of Christmas is to be found not in a picture book but in a book for older children, The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy Boston. In this book, Mrs Oldknow and her grandson Tolly prepare for the festivities in the company of the ghost children who have lived in the old house in past generations. The writing is lyrical and moving and somehow sums up all that the best of Christmas can and should mean to us.
Thank you so much Patricia! And finally, don’t forget to download this AMAZING activity pack created by Bloomsbury – perfect for the Christmas holidays!
Published by Bloomsbury, 12 October 2023
ISBN: 978-1526635433
I am very grateful to the publisher for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book. This voluntary feature contains my honest opinion.
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