Cattywampus Tested: Positive Spin Holiday Books

I don’t know about you all, but I love to read my kids books most nights, but we try to find really special ones to share on the nights leading up to Christmas. Our holiday stories are some of our favorites. So, I was happy Parent Bloggers Network asked to review a series of books put on by Positive Spin Press. The name of the company intrigued me from the get-go. Well, when I got the three stories, I noticed right off the bat that the book illustrations were colorful and fun and the book design was nice.

The first story we read, All Hallows Eve, tells the story of a little fairy, Eve and gives a great little tale of how Halloween came to be, thanks to Eve’s pumpkin patch friends. The sing-songy storyline is fun to read and the pictures are cute. There’s also a website you can go to and listen to the author read the story, find coloring pages and teaching information.  While this book was paperback, it was sturdy in design and nice looking.

The second book, Winter’s Eve, was probably my personal favorite. In this story, Eve hears from all of her friends who are travelling for the holidays. Each one shares something about the country they are visiting and the special holiday traditions they are celebrating, including Kwanzaa, Diwali, Hanukkah, St. Lucia’s Day, and even the Chinese New Year. I have to admit, there are a few holidays in there that I had never heard of, so reading was a learning experience for me. Plus, I like the message behind the book of recognizing that not everyone may celebrate our traditional Christmas, but they do have holidays that are important in their own culture that are interesting and fun to learn about.

The final book was Christmas Eve, a fun little tale where Eve visits Santa and finds the Elves all down with Elf Pox and the reindeer depressed and and over-worked. Eve thinks she can’t help Santa, because she is so small. I like this thread of the story because my youngest is often discouraged because she is both the little sister and can’t do everything her older brother can, but she is also very petite in stature. I never want her to think she can’t do great things because of that. In addition, Eve learns the joy of giving to others and appreciating others too. There’s other interesting threads to this tale, and is again is told in the same rhyming technique.

All and all, I found these books delightful. The phrasing and wording is done in such a way that they would be perfect books to read aloud to your child’s class or at bedtime. I could also see older kids enjoying reading these to their younger siblings and expect my son will do the same for his little sister.

But, don’t just take my word for it. Check out Eve’s Bonus Page where you can access all the books and see them for yourself or order them directly from the author. Also, check out the other Parent Bloggers to see what they thought!