Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
The Longest Christmas List Ever
Picture Book
For ages 4 to 8
Hyperion Book, 2009 ISBN: 978-1423101949
One Christmas morning a little boy called Trevor wakes up very early and, dashing downstairs, he begins to open his presents. He then realizes that he quite forgot to ask for one very important gift – a puppy. There and then he starts working on his Christmas list for next year and at the top of the list he writes “puppy.”
Trevor’s list begins reasonably but is soon “spiraled out of control” as he askes for more and more things. Not only that but the things that he asks for became more and more elaborate. He wants shoes that will allow him to “walk on the ceiling” and a “nuclear jet pack.” His list gets so long that he fills boxes and boxes with paper and by spring it is five hundred feet long.
When it comes time to mail his list Trevor discovers that he has a big problem. He can not possibly afford to send such a huge list to Santa. He will have to shorten his list radically. Unfortunately he does not get his list finished in time for Christmas. Now Santa won’t know what he wants and he won’t get anything at all. If only he hadn’t been so greedy in the first place!
All too often we are consumed with the idea of getting gifts when Christmas comes around. In this well crafted and meaningful picture book the authors use delightful rhymes and cartoon style artwork to show their readers how extreme one little boy’s fanaticism becomes. Thankfully, in spite of the mistakes he makes, he gets to have a wonderful Christmas after all.
