Review - Llama Llama Holiday Drama

Llama Llama Holiday Drama (Llama Llama)
by Anna Dewdney
Date: 2010
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

Llama Llama holidays. Jingle music. Lights ablaze.

How long till that special date?

Llama Llama has to wait.

If there's one thing Llama Llama doesn't like, it's waiting. He and Mama Llama rush around, shopping for presents, baking cookies, decorating the tree . . . but how long is it until Christmas? Will it ever come? Finally, Llama Llama just can't wait any more! It takes a cuddle from Mama Llama to remind him that "Gifts are nice, but there's another: The true gift is, we have each other."

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I thought I'd already read a Llama Llama holiday book, but I guess it wasn't this one. (Honestly, the Llama Llama catalogue is a pretty extensive one.)

In this book, Llama Llama and Mama are busy getting ready for Christmas. There's so much to do! Shopping, baking, decorating... It all culminates in a tummy ache and a little llama who's had more than enough. It's up to Mama to remind him that Christmas is about love and being there for each other.

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. I did find the rhythm of the rhyming text uncharacteristically clunky in spots. I also don't like the way the book keeps using the word "holiday" when it means "Christmas". A dreidel is mentioned once, but make no mistake: This is a book about Christmas, despite that word not being used even once. The elves, the countdown to the 25th, the present shopping, decorating a tree... This is Christmas, not some generic winter holiday, or even a combination of holidays. So... that was annoying.

Other than that, though, this is a book that Llama Llama fans will want for their collection. 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.

Premise: 4/5
Meter: 3/5
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.43 out of 5