Advent Book Tree

Last year I had great fun creating a Christmas countdown for my little BookBairn. She was a bit too young to 'get' that we were counting down to something but she did have great fun practising her unwrapping skills and by Christmas Day she was pretty good at tearing the paper off her gifts! So I thought I would do the same this year. As you know, she loves a bit of book post and hopefully this will be just as fun!

Obviously, 24 books could be a rather expensive outlay but as I got several last year, I'm just topping up with a few from the library and with some new releases that I couldn't resist and re-wrapping most of the same ones from last year. Five of our favourites from last year that we reviewed last year will definitely be top of the re-wrap list. (It's worth clicking on the link if you want to see some pictures of teeny tiny BookBairn especially as I haven't got pictures of her with this year's books to keep the secret.) But I thought I would share with those five that I couldn't resist.

The Christmas Bear by Ian Whybrow and Axel Scheffler

BookBairn loves the Tales from Acorn Wood series and I have no doubt that she is going to be thrilled to see some of her old favourites appear in this festive tale. This is the tale of the Christmas toy Bear who has been left behind in Santa's rush to leave. He has to make his way under the tree of the little boy who is waiting for him all by himself. Except all the animals help along the way. Told with silly rhymes such as "bees on skis", "duck in a truck" and "sardine in a submarine" it will make grown ups and little ones giggle alike. For those of you who loved Oi Frog or Oi Dog, and who enjoy Axel Scheffler's instantly recognisable illustrations this is a perfect festive read! As if that's not enough, it has lift-the-flaps to keep little ones busy whilst adults try to get their mouths around the tongue-twisting phrases!

Bunny Slopes by Claudia Rueda

I have recently discovered that interactive books for little ones don't always need to sing and dance, with lift-the-flaps or touch and feel or pop up elements to get their utmost attention. Bunny Slopes is the perfect example of this sort of story. Bunny is trying to make his way home down the mountain slopes but there's no snow. Little readers simple have to shake the book and turn the page to make the snow appear, tilt the book to help Bunny down the slope and turn the book to help Bunny overcome the obstacles in his path. With an irresistible main character this book will no doubt entertain little ones on those cold winter evenings. But you might want to have a cup of hot cocoa at the ready!

Countdown to Christmas by Stuart Lynch

It wouldn't be a countdown to Christmas without this one in the list! BookBairn is beginning to sequence numbers and can now count to six without help. This book is going to be great fun to help her along with her counting. Starting at 10, this book counts down lots of festive elements through 9, 8, 7 wrapped presents (not 24 books!), 6, 5, 4 stockings, 3, 2, 1 Santa on his sleigh. Featuring spreads that have one page with raised shaped objects that neatly fit into the scooped cutouts on the opposite page, they are such a wonderful multi-sensory books with key Christmas vocabulary and numbers. BookBairn loved tracing her fingers over the raised and cutout shapes of the Touch Think Learn books so I'm sure she will adore this book too. Not to mention I adore the cute illustrations so I just couldn't resist it!

Little Christmas Tree by Jessica Courtney-Tickle and Ruth Symons

This is a beautiful book sharing with little ones the change of the seasons from autumn to winter and showing the beautiful flora and fauna of the chilly winter months. Beautifully illustrated with delicate attention to detail and including some silver foil elements truly make the pages shine! Under each flap (of which there are several on a page) little readers can discover another creature or plant that you might find in a wintry forest. Accompanied by a poetic phrase on each page, this a beautifully magical exploration of a winter's forest.

Bizzy Bear: Christmas Helper by Benji Davis

I'd best start the wrapping now! It's going to take a few nap times to get them all wrapped up! I'll be sharing photos of her unwrapping on our social media which you can find all the links to at the top of the page and I will pop any reviews of BookBairn's favourites as we unwrap them.

We would love to know what you will be reading this Christmas time! We are always on the lookout for good book recommendations!