Looking for some festive cheer on a damp winter’s day? Look no further than these two gorgeous rhyming stories from Nosy Crow, which are sure to put a smile on your face.  Each one comes with a free Stories aloud smartphone audio book, so they can be enjoyed again and again even if you’re on the move, so quite handy for Christmas travels!

 

Oliver Elephant by Lou Peacock, illustrated by Helen Stephens

Noah is going Christmas shopping with his Mummy and baby sister, Evie-May.  He takes Oliver Elephant with him to help and has a wonderful time playing all around the store while Mummy chooses presents.  When it’s time to go, after a special treat of a nice piece of cake, Oliver Elephant is nowhere to be seen! Noah and Mummy look everywhere, but it’s baby sister Evie-May who finds the missing Elephant. And they even remember to get the Christmas star for the tree – thank goodness for that!

Young readers are bound to enjoy this festive story which celebrates the everyday life of little ones at Christmas time.

The lovely rhyming narrative and gorgeous illustrations capture the magic and busyness of festive shopping, the mishaps that can occur and the love that children have for their family – and their soft toys! A real treat to read aloud, Oliver Elephant is a perfect bedtime story for Christmas.

 

The Princess and the Christmas Rescue by Caryl Hart, illustrated by Sarah Warburton

Princess Eliza loves to invent things, but her parents the King and Queen want her to do something more ‘Princess-like’ and find a friend to play with. So Princess Eliza tries her best, but no amount of frog kissing, making gingerbread or waiting for a Prince to rescue her seems to work! Soon she discovers she’s not the only one in need and sets about using her brilliant inventions to help none other than Santa and his elves. Before she knows it, Princess Eliza has made a whole workshop of friends and helped save Christmas. What could be better than that?!

 

This is an absolute festive delight!  The rhyming narrative skips through this charming story with amusing references to well- known fairy tales. Princess Eliza is a wonderful, industrious heroine who I’m sure anyone who’s ever enjoyed making things will identify with.

Lovely, bright and detailed illustrations bring to life the magical workshop and all it’s inhabitants and of course, the wonder of Christmas!  Another fantastic book to read aloud that will have young readers reaching for their craft box.

 

Find out more at  www.helenstephens.com/

www.carylhart.com and http://sarahwarburton.blogspot.co.uk

With thanks to Nosy Crow for sending me these books to review.