Christmas Titles Too Soon

Apparently not. I was in the post office the other day. My sister had her third daughter and I wanted to send the cutest little mary-jane socks to her. The postal worker asked if it was a Christmas present. I said no and asked him why. He told me that the season had started. I don't celebrate Christmas and I certainly don't send the few Christmas presents I give in mid-November. But it made me think that if the sending season has started, Christmas book reviews should be gotten out of the way now.
I am a sucker for holiday books but only if they tell you something new about the holiday or give you an incite into how other people celebrate it. Amongst my favourite holiday picture books are Henry Slumfenburger's Christmas by John Burningham and Leslie Kimmelman's Round the Turkey about Thanksgiving.
Message for Santa by Tony Ross and Hiawyn Oram is a satisfying book and one that I would like to recommend to those who like to invest in the genre. The story is about a girl who is enthusiastic about Christmas but is frightened of Santa. She overcomes her fears by communicating her worries to her parents and to him. Santa confides his fears of being stuck in a chimney and Emily, the girl, recognises that she is not alone when it comes to worries. Tony Ross' familiar drawings have a different and pleasing tone. The illustrations are outlined in red, santa looks charming and sympathetic.
    Mucky Pup by Ken Brown is not a book that I want to like but I do. It is about trying to help, messing things up, being sent away and then forgiven and welcomed back. If you have come across Mucky Pup, the story and illustrations are more or less the same. They are gobbled up by two to four year olds. They love it. This story happens to them frequently. The ending is satisfying. It is the sort of book you let them get on with and hope they don't ask you to read it too many times.