If Animals Celebrated Christmas by Ann Whitford Paul - OPTIONAL

If Animals Celebrated Christmas by Ann Whitford Paul, illustrated by David Walker. PICTURE BOOK. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2018. $17. 9780374309015

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

In this rhyming text, the narrator imagines what animals might do when Christmas comes close. A koala would cheer, a tortoise would make a holiday wish, and a penguin would write a letter to Santa. The book continues in this pattern through eleven different animals, revisiting the koala family every few pages. 

I really wanted this book to make connections to real-world animal behaviors and what that might look like in the context of Christmas. Instead, the book is all just playful and random holiday traditions performed by different animals. The illustrations are bright and will appeal primarily to very young readers.   

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher