Five Days of Worth The Read Christmas Books: Day Two, Vivian Walsh's Olive, the Other Reindeer

If you've ever sung the wrong lyrics to a song, or have seen the VW Rocket Man commercial, you know that song lyrics, however melodious, can be seriously misheard by the human ear. And that is what the story of Olive, the Other Reindeer is all about.

Olive is going about her business doing normal dog things, taking walks, wrapping presents, and listening to the radio when the holiday classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer comes on. True to the song, the lyrics "All of the other reindeer" waft over the airwaves, but what Olive hears is "Olive, the OTHER reindeer". When Olive hears this song, she no longer believes she is a dog, but a reindeer.

Olive sets out on a trek for the North Pole to meet Santa, and to become part of his flying reindeer team. She encounters many obstacles along the way, but the story ends in the most perfect way.

The book's title, with it's subtle humorous play on words carries throughout the book, creating a lovable character that children are sure to love as well as keeping parents intrigued with humor that would otherwise he over the heads of their children.

This books is worth the read for many reasons, the cute illustrations, the humor throughout, and because in 1999 Olive, the Other Reindeer, the movie, became a prime time sensation. That means it's got to be good, right? Pick this one up and you won't be disappointed. You might be able to catch the movie on TV, check your local listings.

Five Days of Worth-The-Read Christmas Books: Day One, Jan Brett's Who's That Knocking on Chirstmas Eve?

For day one of "Five Days of Worth-The-Read Christmas Books", I thought I would start with the opitome Christmas authors, Jan Brett. Ms. Brett has written so many Christmas and wintertime stories, that if you miss a few of her everyday books, you would think she writes Christmas and winter books exclusively.

Most of Brett's books are riddled with folklore and fantasy, and her trademark old worldly illustrated hindsight/foresight sidebars lend an accent to those styles nicely. Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve (WTKOCE) is no different in style.

In this story, a young boy from Finmark, Norway is on his way to Oslo with his Ice Bear when he smells something delicious and stumbles upon a cabin in the woods.

Inside the cabin, a girl name Kyri is cooking Christmas Eve dinner for her family and is startled by every sound she hears. She's had trouble with Trolls invading and eating her Christmas Eve dinners in the past, and she's afraid they'll be back for more this year. Deciding that the young boy's knock was polite enough, she lets him and his Ice Bear inside to warm up. Soon, they are invaded by trolls.

I don't want to give away the whole story, but it ends with the young boy and his bear being invited back for Christmas Eve dinners to come.

Overall, this story is well written for it's intended audience, and incorporates some of Brett's favorite themes: Winter, Bears, and Trolls. The Illustrations are stellar in classic Brett style, but my favorite illustrations in this book lie within the sidebars. Brett did a phenomenal job incorporating the troll theme into her illustrations of the northern lights and constellations, I had to go back after I finished the story itself to take in the beauty and detail of the sidebars. I was left in awe. The detail in the illustrations alone make this book "Worth The Read", but the story by itself is sure to please young readers as well. As with most of Brett's books I say, the story is for the kids, but the illustrations are for the adults. :)

Stay tuned for what Day Two brings! Happy Reading!