The dreaded C-word is completely unmentioned. Instead, Llama's mom is baking not-Hannukkah cookies and there's a not-Kwanzaa tree and a non-Eid stocking. The holiday in question is clearly Christmas - menorahs are sprinkled amidst the not-Hanukkah trees in the store but none are in Llama's house. (Really, does anyone hang stockings on their bed?)Įven considering the rhyme-scheme driven limitations, Llama doesn't seem to act like an impatient kid, more like an overdramatic teenage girl.Īnd fine - I was triggered, as my more politically correct brethren might say. If we're going to embark on a let's-avoid-bedtime-via-questions odyssey, I'd rather it not be inspired by an illustrator trying to shoe-horn in a cute picture of Llama sleeping with a symbolically filled stocking, an illustrator who didn't expect to be called on the implausibility of the scene by a 2 year old.

Kids: But why doesn't he have a fireplace in an apartment? Kids: Why does Llama have a stocking on his bed? Kids found it dull, with only one or two questions. It's full of the fun of the Christmas season, and parents will be able to relate to the overloaded kid at the centre of it all. Other than that, though, this is a book that Llama Llama fans will want for their collection. This is Christmas, not some generic winter holiday, or even a combination of holidays. The elves, the countdown to the 25th, the present shopping, decorating a tree. A dreidel is mentioned once, but make no mistake: This is a book about Christmas, despite that word not being used even once.

I also don't like the way the book keeps using the word 'holiday' when it means 'Christmas'. I did find the rhythm of the rhyming text uncharacteristically clunky in spots.

The pictures are cute (especially the one of Llama Llama when he keels over from too much holiday cheer), and the overall message is good. It's up to Mama to remind him that Christmas is about love and being there for each other. It all culminates in a tummy ache and a little llama who's had more than enough. There's so much to do! Shopping, baking, decorating. In this book, Llama Llama and Mama are busy getting ready for Christmas. (Honestly, the Llama Llama catalogue is a pretty extensive one.) I thought I'd already read a Llama Llama holiday book, but I guess it wasn't this one.

Llama on holiday