When Blues Clues renamed St. Valentine’s Day, Love Day, I cringed. But at least when they celebrated Blue’s First Holiday, they had a variety of winter holidays featured: Christmas, Hanukkah, Ramadan, and Kwanzaa. In this beautiful board book by Elizabeth Bennett, we find many symbols of Christmas: Christmas trees, stockings, candy canes, reindeer and stars, but the book is titled, It’s Holiday Time! I’m left wondering why. There are no Menorahs, no Kinaras, not even a Fanouz. And while shopping, baking, and spending time with family is part of any holiday tradition, the animal family is shown swapping gifts in front of a Christmas tree or participating in other activities with reindeer on their sweaters. Granted, caroling, a tradition going back to Medieval times is not rooted in the Christmas holiday, but many modern families consider it a Christmas tradition.
If I was looking to share the fun activities and symbols that surround Christmas, I wouldn’t confuse a preschooler by talking about “holiday time.” It appears this book is seeking not to be affiliated with a particular holiday or to offend any group, but then why not make it a true holiday book that includes symbols from a variety of winter holidays or focus on winter fun instead?
As I said at the beginning, this is a beautiful book. Artist Gladys Baccala illustrated It’s Holiday Time! and it makes the story so special. The colors she uses, the soft texture to the drawings, and the glittery twinkles and shimmers capture the reader’s attention. It’s definitely a sweet book regardless of my feelings on the use of “Holiday” versus “Christmas” in the title and on the final page.
Rating: 🙂 🙂 🙂
- Board book:20 pages
- Publisher:Tiger Tales; Brdbk edition (September 1, 2012)
- Language:English
- ISBN-10:1589256409
- ISBN-13: 978-1589256408
- SRP: $8.95
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I was not compensated in any way.
The Children's and Teens' Book Connection 