Book of the Week: Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney
Recommended Age Range: 1-5
I figured with all the holiday cheer filling the air, it was only fitting to kick off our first book of the week with a holiday themed gem. There are a kajillion (yes, that’s a made up number…my math teaching siblings would be so proud) holiday books in existence. We are huge fans of the Llama Llama series in our house and this book is hands down one of my favorite holiday books. I wouldn’t call it a “classic” because well, that is reserved for Rudolph, Frosty, Charlie Brown’s Christmas, The Polar Express and The Night Before Christmas…but it’s a great book. It’s simple, age appropriate, captures the essence of all fun, festive holiday activities like baking cookies, decorating and shopping. But most of all, it really focuses on the idea of WAITING for Christmas and not getting caught up in all the “holidrama”. I know that Avery is struggling with understanding when exactly this Christmas shindig is going down, and I love that Llama Llama Holiday Drama does a great job of addressing the ‘when-is-it-time?!’ frustration. Little Llama gets overwhelmed with all the wanting and the waiting, and ultimately learns that it’s easy to get caught up in the ‘holidrama’, but what really matters is the true meaning of the season – family, love, giving and all that warm and fuzzy goodness.
There are a lot of kids books that attempt to “teach lessons” but instead end up glorifying or teaching bad behaviors. I have found that the Llama Llama books do a great job of addressing less than ideal behavior in a simple, clear way that doesn’t encourage kids to copy the naughty stuff. Avery loves Llama Llama Holiday Drama, and so do I. The illustrations are cute, it rhymes, it’s not too long and not too short and the message is sweet.
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