Jim Durk

It's Christmas Eve, and Clifford the Small Red Dog is worried because he doesn't have a Christmas present for Emily Elizabeth. The one he does end up giving is corny, so the sooner forgotten the better.

I'm much more interested in what crappy thing her father, Mark Howard, must have done that he is giving his wife a big, fancy necklace. Is Clifford not the only dog in the family? Is there another reason the family has to relocate to Birdwell Island in the near future other than Clifford's show more size? Hmmmm.

Actually, the most interesting thing about this book is my daughter never bothered to do the stickers when she got this at six years old, so she tried to do it this year at twenty-two and had trouble with the tricky placement required to get the secret correct answers that the sticker designer built into the book. Some stickers took several minutes of analysis and discussion about perspective and required conjecture about the creator's intentions. Oh my. show less

SUMMARY: The Cat in the Hat takes two of his friends on a tour around the world as he informs them about animals that are mammals.

REVIEW: I believe that children will really enjoy this book. "The Cat in the Hat" stories are always a favorite among young children, mostly because of the silly rhymes and colorful, fun illustrations. While being an entertaining read for kids, this book in particular is also full of informative facts about mammals. Told in rhymes, The Cat in the Hat takes his show more friends around the world and shows them all sorts of creatures that would be considered mammals. An example of this is when he is describing the smallest mammal: "What's the world's smallest mammal?/ I've brought one for you./ It weighs less than a dime./ It's this cute...pygmy shrew!" Children will enjoy learning about all sorts of mammals through silly rhymes and illustrations. show less

Clifford, Cleo, T-Bone, and Mac have a beachside scavenger hunt where they learn that winning sometimes means cooperating. Nice.

The Howards are traveling for Thanksgiving, but a snowstorm traps them in a train station. Fortunately, they are not alone and Thanksgiving is not spoiled after all. Simple and bland.