Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews

Finding Christmas

Finding Christmas

Helen Ward
Illustrator:   Wayne Anderson 
Picture Book
For ages 3 to 6
Penguin, 2004   ISBN: 978-0525473008

The little girl in the red coat has been looking for that "the prefect present" to give to someone very special. So far she hasn't found i,  and the day is coming to a close. In the cold and dark, in the snow and amongst the crowds of shoppers, the little girl keeps on looking, determined not to go home empty-handed.

Bravely the little girl goes down a "gray and cold and empty" little street where she finds, to her surprise, a jewel of a shop - a shop absolutely full of toys. The little girl is delighted only to find her happiness slipping away as she watches another shopper miraculously clear the shelves of every single toy in the place. What is the little girl to do and where is she going to find that perfect present that she is seeking? As it happens, she ends up with two gifts, both of them especially joyous because they are surprises.

This delicious book with is luminous and poignant art offers up a simple but powerful tale of Christmas giving and Christmas magic.