Hurray! It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday!
I have a cute one for you today 🙂
Along with a heads up that this is probably the last Perfect Picture Book Friday of 2016. By next Friday the Holiday Writing Contest will be underway… as well as the Friday after…and then we will all be up to our ears in holiday preparations – cleaning, sampling the gingerbread baking,tasting the Christmas brownies shopping, wrapping, greeting, entertaining the little angels who are on school vacation,sustaining ourselves with Something Chocolate traveling, spending time with friends and family – far too busy for blogging!
But I hope you’ll like today’s pick – a little reminiscent of Eloise to my mind!
Title: The Biggest Smallest Christmas Present
Written & Illustrated By: Harriet Muncaster
G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books For Young Readers, October 18 2016, fiction
Suitable For Ages: 3-5
Themes/Topics: Holidays (Christmas), ingenuity, perseverance, making the best of things
Opening: “Clementine lived in an ordinary house on an ordinary street with her ordinary mom and dad and brother, Charlie.
But there was one extraordinary thing about Clementine…”
Brief Synopsis: Clementine is not an average-size girl. She’s so tiny she bathes in a teacup. Santa keeps bringing her presents that are much too big. How can she get him to bring her a present that’s the right size?
text and illustration copyright Harriet Muncaster 2016
Links To Resources: The 5 Best Toys Of All Time (or how to let kids use their imagination and creativity as Clementine does 🙂 ); 25 Easy Christmas Crafts For Kids
Why I Like This Book: Clementine is cute and spunky. She may be tiny, but she finds ingenious and creative ways to use the gifts she receives that are too big for her. She can’t use the xylophone sticks to play the instrument… but they make great stilts! And the xylophone itself? Well, she can play it by dancing on it – making her own music! The fairy slippers are too big to wear… but one of them makes a perfect bed. Still, she longs for a present that’s just the right size. She does her best to explain this to Santa, but her first two attempts are foiled. I love the ending because of the ambiguity. Did Santa really get her message? Or has he known all along that she would get more out of presents she had to find her own way to enjoy? The art is delightful and engaging, showing Clementine’s disporportionatly big personality. A fun, fresh read for Christmas time!
text and illustration copyright Harriet Muncaster 2016
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂
Susanna Leonard Hill 
Sounds like an excellent book. Can’t wait to find it. 🙂
What a sweet Christmas book. I love her name and the illustrations. Reminds me of Thumbelina. Great gift book!
I love the sample illustrations here and the premise! Now I want to find this one!
Haven’t seen this one…YET! Love the illustrations & the message of creativity.
Goodie…a holiday book I haven’t seen before…I’m hoping to find a bunch of new ones for this season…so thanks so much, Susanna…the illustrations draw me in…so I will check it out.
Oh, this looks like the cutest little book! Definitely putting it on my list for Santa.
Aak! What? Who is this author? Her work is so sweet! Clementine is the cutest. thing. EVER! Gotta find this before Christmas. Thanks for reviewing. Great choice.
Thanks for introducing this new holiday book! Time has gotten away from me. Maybe I’ll double up my reviews next week to catch up . . .looks like everyone else has plenty for me to read until then.
I almost picked your pick!!!
This looks adorable. I love the theme and the charming illustrations!
Such a cute idea and Christmas-y message. And another holiday contest. YAY!
I like her. She’s little – like me! If I got a slipper that was too big, I’d eat it. Problem solved.
Love and licks,
Cupcake
What an adorable story! 💜
Oh yes her vibrant self so reminds me of Eloise. This is a lovely cute book just right for Christmas. I’m going to see if they have it in our library. So going to get this out. Thanks for sharing and I hope you have a warm toastie Christmas. Will miss PPBF.
This looks absolutely precious. I’ve never seen this book before, so I’ll be on the lookout while Christmas shopping. I have just the right person in mind for this one!
Sounds wonderful. I look forward to reading it.