We Love Christmas!

A Christmas-themed color-recognition board book.

This rhyming story points out all of the different colors of the Christmas season: the “dazzling white” of a snowman and the iconic red worn by “Santa in his sled,” for example. The holiday theme is largely a vehicle for color-identification practice, and the rhymes generally keep the pace going (even if they do force the use of sledinstead of sleigh). Some of the phrasing reads aloud awkwardly, but it’s a mild interruption. Barnard’s illustrations include characters of many different racial presentations, though Santa appears White. Additionally, there are lots of lovely details, like the candy jars in a store window filled with meticulously detailed sweets or the miniature silhouette of Santa and his reindeer flying across the moon while children get ready for bed. A particularly beautiful scene shows St. Nick soaring over rooftops, the red of his sleigh bright against the black night sky. The illustrations are more interesting than the text, offering much more to take in than simply the color identification. This gives it a repeat-read boost for the toddler crowd, as there is more than one way to read, talk about, and engage with the book.

The illustrations make this a worthwhile read. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)--Kirkus