Christmas picture books

How wonderful to see books celebrating Christmas as we know it in Australia. The ‘Teeny Tiny Stevies’ are back with a new picture book, all about Aussie summer Christmases.

Snowmen, chimneys, plum puddings and dark wintry evenings are all charming, but not part of an Australian Christmas.

Instead, we have hot days in the sun, the long summer holiday, shorts, T-shirts and swimmers in the paddling pool or the beach, the buzz of cicadas and the sting of mozzie bites, pavlova for Christmas lunch.

The pictures by Simon Howe capture the pleasures of long hot days, camping trips, the anticipation of Christmas morning.

I love this book; it is a real portrayal of an Australian summer and our different way of ‘doing Christmas’ here.

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Back to the northern hemisphere, we have A Night Before Christmas – with a difference.

A small boy, accompanied by his dog and cat, is witness to the antics of the Elf on the Shelf, who narrates the familiar story of the arrival of St Nicholas with his sleigh and trusty reindeer.

There is a mix of old and new as the much-loved Christmas poem is given a shake up by the elf. The pictures created by author and illustrator Chanda A. Bell are vibrant with saturation colours and plenty of activity.

Together these two books celebrate Christmas in both hemispheres of the globe. They are published in Sept and Oct 2023 by Harper Collins Children’s Books.
My thanks to the publishers for review copies.