The crayons' Christmas by Drew Daywalt

Illus. by Oliver Jeffers. HarperCollins, 2019. ISBN: 9780008180362.
(Age: 3+) Highly recommended. Themes: Crayons, Christmas, Humour, Pop up. This beautifully presented book, with flaps, letters, envelopes, lift ups and pop outs will intrigue and delight younger readers along with the older readers who helps them navigate the pages.
Eager fingers will love searching through the intricacies of the book's production. Buy two, even three! Kids will love it and shown how to use it carefully, the book will last just as long as any other popular book in the library or at home.
The humour of the The day the crayons quit (2013), followed by The day the crayons came home (2015) and Crayon's book of numbers (2016) is spread throughout this Christmas offering as the two, Red and Green crayon prepare for the celebrations with Duncan.
Letters arrive at their home, but the contents are not for Duncan, but various other crayons.
After being outdoors for a while in the snow they decide to get out the Christmas decorations and hang them up, pulling out the box of decorations that everyone has stored somewhere in their house.
Each routine of Christmas follows, putting up decorations, singing carols, making a Santa in the snow, making biscuits and a drink to leave for Santa, wrapping presents, receiving and sending cards and letters, emails and gifts, until the night before Christmas arrives and the Christmas play is over. All is in readiness. But Duncan receives a map of the world showing a world tour by his friends and hears that they won't be home for Christmas, so the crayons take the day in hand, presenting a Christmas to remember.
A wonderful play on the idea of Christmas, this book revolves around the routines of Christmas, the things done in western societies heralding the day and its customs. Children will follow the routines readily, recognising the ones done in their homes and seeing some of those replicated in the shops and streets of their towns. Children will love opening the envelopes and reading the messages, piecing together the story as it unfolds, and enjoy hanging the decorations, popping up the tree, taking out the clothing to put on the crayon.
Fran Knight