Merry Un-Christmas

This book was actually very original and I was surprised by how much I was laughing and smirking. At first I thought Noelle was just a spoiled little brat, but the author reassured me that this was not true since Christmas happens 364 days a year. I can understand why she got so bored with Christmas presents and Christmas dinner.

This story is great for an unconventional holiday laugh. =)

Can there ever be too many Christmas presents? Too much turkey? Yes, there can. Just ask Noelle. Noelle lives in Christmas City, which means it is Christmas 364 days a year. Most kids would be delighted, but Noelle wishes for Un-Christmas Day instead.

Un-Christmas Day is the one day a year she can go to school, eat TV dinners, and get letters from the mailman. Oh, what fun it is to put away the Christmas tree too. In fact, it's so much fun, Noelle wishes it could be Un-Christmas Day every day of the year!

The Bottom Line: It's easy to think the grass is always greener on the other side of the mountain, but is it really? It's just something to consider in this charming Christmas picture book filled with colorful and humorous illustrations. show more This fun book is enthusiastically recommended for story time and bed time holiday reading.

This review also appears at the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog. show less

Such a fun read about a town that celebrates Christmas every day of the year except one day. One day a year the mail man comes, kids go to school, there are TV dinners and other "ordinary day" type activities. Especially fun to read with my 4 year old who thinks it would be great if Christmas was EVERY day!

Side Note: we thought the little girl had a striking resemblance to our favorite little gal in Stand Tall Molly Lou Mellon.

My son brought this home from his school library and it is hilarious! It's about a girl who lives in Christmas town and it's Christmas 364 days of the year. Every day she gets bikes and ponies and they eat 6 course dinners. So Un-christmas is her favorite day of the year when she can go to school and eat TV dinners. Great jumping off point for a discussion about gratefulness.

I love David Catrow's illustrations, and the concept here is interesting -- but, sadly, I don't think it works. Reiss just doesn't do enough to make me buy that anyone would go through that much trouble to have Christmas every day or make the un-Christmas celebration sound realistic (mail and bills only come once a year? COME ON!). Nice attempt, doesn't make my cut.

Reviewed by Me for Kids @ TeensReadToo.com

For Noelle, there's one day a year that she looks forward to more than any other. No, it's not Christmas, but Un-Christmas!

For Noelle and her family, who live in Christmas City, Texmas, Un-Christmas is the one and only day when things are as close to normal as they can get. Noelle can go to school (since school is closed on Christmas), the mailman can finally deliver the mail (since the post office is closed on Christmas), and she can watch regular shows on television (since Christmas is filled with holiday specials and the Grinch and Scrooge). For the family that celebrates Christmas 364 days a year, Un-Christmas is a wonderful day!

My kids thought, at first, that having Christmas every day of show more the year except one sounded like a wonderful idea. Until they realized that, like Noelle, they would soon have so many presents they wouldn't want to play with any of them. And that having a large Christmas dinner--the SAME Christmas dinner--every single day would start to get boring. And that the feeling of excitement and anticipation that comes on Christmas Day would, after celebrating it so many times, start to fade.

No, they decided, Noelle is right to be so happy to see Un-Christmas come. And having Christmas once a year really is enough! show less

They ask for it all the time, in fact, or they did until I got fed up and hid it...!

It is a bit long, though, and at the end of the description of how wonderful un-Christmas is I no longer feel amused but more sad for Noelle.

But the nieces find it funny still, and that's what matters.