I Love You Father Christmas by Giles Andreae and Emma Dodd

I Love You Father Christmas by Giles Andreae and Emma Dodd
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Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Zoe Page
Summary: A letter to Santa, told entirely in verse, this is sweet but may not be for everyone.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: October 2013
Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN: 978-1408330227
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This is a rather lovely letter to Santa style book, told entirely in verse. It starts off with the title words, I love you Father Christmas and works through why the gentleman in question rocks:

Your beard looks amazing
And yes, you’re rather fat
But you probably just like eating
And there’s nothing wrong with that

followed by justification for why the child writing needs presents this year. We have a bit of bribery (he’ll leave out snacks for Santa and his reindeer) and some selfless self promotion (he’s been helpful, said please and thank you, played nicely with the other children). We even have an acknowledgement that he is already a very lucky boy, the implication being that he has a nice, exciting life with a mummy and daddy who love him and do fun things with him. But, the plea remains: can he have some presents, pretty please?

How much you approve of this book depends on your take on Christmas. I was a poor, deprived child who was never told there was a Santa (or a tooth fairy or an Easter bunny, or, erm, a God), and so never wrote out demanding lists of presents I needed. The little girls this book is heading towards, however, have already started their lists for this year, according to mum. It’s currently August. There’s definitely a commercial feel to the book, and some might object to the message, the expectation, the sense of entitlement almost. It’s definitely Christmas present rather than Christmas past story, and if you believe Christmas is about other things, be it a religious base, or simply that it’s about giving rather than receiving, then you might not like it.

I thought it was ace, though. The verse is brilliant, perfectly scanned and with a nice beat for reading aloud. The pictures are scruffy, with a homemade, hand drawn feel to them which works well in children’s books. The sort that you imagine takes ages to perfect, much like natural look make up can take hours.

If aimed at older children, this would be one poem, on one page, out of several dozen or more making up a book. As it is, this is still one poem, but it’s aimed at little ones and as such it takes up the entire book. All the pages. A few lines on each side, and some pages with no words at all, just big, bright drawings. It reminded me very much of the story of King John which features in Changing Guard at Buckingham Palace by A A Milne and E H Shepard though that is certainly aimed at slightly older readers. The only downside is that it’s a quick read that’s over too soon, so you’ll either need another book handy, or be willing to start this one again as soon as it’s done, because I’m pretty sure no child would think this one alone would be enough for a bedtime, bathtime or any-time read.

Get beyond the surface message that if you tell someone you love them, they might bring you presents, and this is a sweet book that you won’t mind reading again and again, from the moment it comes out of the loft in your box of Christmas books at the beginning of December right through until new year.

Thanks go to the publishers for sending us this book.

I’m not going to score it down because I think it’s a great book as long as you know what you’re getting in for, but if you really can’t be doing with this idea of what Christmas is all about, Santa's Delight by Marisa Laycock might suit you more. Alternatively, the earlier I Love My Daddy by Giles Andreae and Emma Dodd and I Love My Mummy by Giles Andreae and Emma Dodd are in the same style but with different objects of affection. These reviews also suggest that for more seasoned readers, the child could be a boy or a girl. He/she looks just like my 30 year old, hospital manager friend Jon which is why I assumed boy, but I see their point.

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