A cute, diaper-clad baby celebrates his first Christmas with Mommy and Daddy in this latest addition to Patricelli’s growing list of distinctively different board books.
Wearing a Santa hat, the baby cavorts with the family cat on the cover and then moves on to all the traditional Christmas preparations: unpacking decorations, picking out a tree, making presents, visiting Santa and singing Christmas carols. Each activity has just a short phrase or simple sentence of descriptive text, told in first person by the exuberant baby. Humor, both subtle and slapstick, abounds, with some jokes for young children and some for the adults reading aloud. When the baby sloppily decorates a gingerbread house with Daddy, the next page shows the baby gleefully squashing the whole house (“Boom!”). A visit to Santa Claus provides a hilarious sequence in cartoon-frame panels of the baby pulling Santa’s beard and then dissolving in tears, which quickly resolve into a smile for the camera. Babies will enjoy the bright colors and funny baby character, toddlers will enjoy the simple humor, and older preschoolers will enjoy the more subtle comedy conveyed by the witty illustrations.
Even Scrooge himself couldn’t resist this cheerful Christmas cherub. (Board book. 1-4)
