I feel a little silly writing a Christmas book review during the first
week of spring, especially now that all the snow has melted, perhaps not
to return for another seven or eight months. But it only makes sense
that in a series that includes nearly 30 volumes, there would be a story
about Christmas, so in the interests of making my set of Henry and
Mudge reviews as complete as possible, I'll garb myself in seasonal
cheer once more and write about Henry and Mudge and a Very Merry Christmas,
the twenty-fifth book in the easy reader series by Cynthia Rylant and
Sucie Stevenson. (I find it interesting, incidentally, that Stevenson is
the illustrator, as several previous books feature another illustrator
in her style, as do several following this one...)
As with most books in this series, the story is about 35 pages long and is broken down into three sections:Christmastime, Applause and The Best Present.
In the first part, Henry and Mudge make cookies together, which
involves Henry shaping batter and baking cookies and Mudge licking the
floor clean. I like the fact that Henry selects a different cut-out
reflecting the interests of each of the six relatives who will visit,
and also the focus on the distinctive smells of Christmas, since Mudge
is always intent on sniffing things.
The second part involves a
Christmas Eve caroling expedition involving Henry, his parents, his
cousin Annie, his uncle Ed and, of course, Mudge. Their efforts seem to
be well appreciated by the neighbors - so well, in fact, that somebody
even has the consideration to toss Mudge an old shoe while the others
munch on cookies and shake off with chill of a heavy snowfall with mugs
of hot chocolate. Snowball, Annie's pet rabbit, also arrives in this
section, matching Annie's earmuffs, though she doesn't go caroling; if
she had, I would have questioned the wisdom of such an inclusion.
Leaving her unsupervised in Henry's room is risky enough...
Finally, the book culminates in Christmas morning, with presents
(including a silly sweater for Snowball and a pair of fish, which are
rather ill-advisedly placed in Henry's stocking) and food (half of which
seems to accidentally land in Mudge's mouth). We're treated to all the
excitement of relatives and feasting, and when the company leaves,
there's a nice quiet walk through the snow-blanketed woods, complete
with deer, birds and squirrels.
Families have all sorts of
different Christmas traditions, and it's fun to see how Henry and his
parents recognize the holiday. The emphasis on food is especially
appropriate given Mudge's ravenous appetite, while the gathering of
relatives is a nice change for Henry, who's used to a pretty quiet
house. Simple and fun to read, Henry and Mudge and a Very Merry Christmas is great for fans of the series or someone just looking for a nice Christmas story.
No comments:
Post a Comment