Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Merry Sparkling Christmas by Spurr and Madden

Merry Sparkling Christmas by Elizabeth Spurr
Illustrated by Colleen Madden
Copyright 2010
Sterling Kids - Board Book

Things that sparkle, things that shine.
I reach out to make them mine.
Icicles that hang from eaves.
Frozen droplets on the leaves.

A little boy explores his home, admiring the decorations, the city lights he sees through the windows and the gifts beneath his tree until he falls asleep with a smile on his face:

Time for sleep. My day is done
till first rays of the morning sun.
Things that sparkle, things that shine.
I reach out to make them mine.

The image at right doesn't do justice to the colorful, glittery sparkle of Merry Sparkling Christmas. Even on the cover, if you hold the book at the right angle, it appears as if all the ornaments and icicles, lettering and lights are coated in glitter. Fortunately, they're not. You can feel the smoothness of the cover and know your baby or toddler won't end up spitting out bits of glitter or rubbing them into his eyes. Instead, the sparkle just adds beauty to the book.

The rhythm is well done, although not perfect. I love a rhythmic, easy-to-read book for little ones and the combination of that and the sparkly pictures make Merry Sparkling Christmas a fun little book that I'm sure babies will even love "reading" on their own. The illustrations are definitely eye-popping.

The bottom line: Nice rhythmic verse with appealing, glittery and colorful illustrations make Merry Sparkling Christmas a cute little book to buy and read throughout the Christmas season (and probably year-round, if I know little ones well). My only complaint would be that the poor kid is drowning in toys and gifts.

Definitely recommended for the baby or toddler in your life. Some adults may find the sparkle a little annoying, after a few pages. I love shiny, sparkly things, so I had fun reading and admiring the sparkle, although I thought it was a little heavy-handed. My thanks to Katie at Sterling Kids for the review copy!

©2010 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

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