Last week I posted a list of my family’s favorite Christmas-themed children’s books to read aloud. That post has gotten more hits than anything else I’ve written here on this blog — apparently there are a lot of parents and grandparents out there looking for Christmas stories to read to their little ones and wondering what’s good.
So let me tell you about a wonderful little book I just picked up a few days ago: Olivia Helps With Christmas.
I’ve never read any of the other Olivia books, but I understand there’s a whole series of them. All I can say is, if they’re all this funny I wish I’d discovered this little pig years ago. The Amazon blurb says it’s meant for kids 4-8 years old, and that sounds about right, but my nine-year-old laughed almost as loud as my seven-year-old at Olivia’s antics in this story. And my seven-year-old just about laughed his lungs up!
As a parent, what I like best about “Olivia Helps With Christmas” is that it focuses on the things that make this holiday truly merry and bright: the little family activities and interactions that are repeated year after year until they become a cozy, inextricable part of the Christmas spirit itself. Untangling the strings of lights, decorating the tree, singing carols, trying to fall asleep while listening for Santa, the excitement of Christmas morning…it’s all captured wonderfully here, and Olivia’s enthusiastic abandon makes it all the more fun.
If you and your kids/grandkids enjoy reading aloud together, this book belongs in your holiday collection. At the very least, it’s worth checking out at the library for a night or two of storytime laughs.
And I’ll be looking for the rest of Olivia’s books. You can never have too much laughter in your life. 🙂
An Invincible Summer 